Towards Collaborative Immersive Environments for Parametric Modelling

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry started to integrate Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) solutions in Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) tools, but their use is mostly limited to visualisation purposes. Few of these tools propose the ability of advanced modelling directly within an immersive environment. Doing so requires new input modalities that go beyond the traditional mouse and keyboard combination that is considered suboptimal for 3D manipulations. To fill this void, we previously proposed a software bridge between Grasshopper, a popular tool for parametric architectural modelling, and the HTC Vive VR headset. This bridge allows to edit the corresponding parametric models from within a VR environment. As such, the user can adjust parameter values and get real-time feedback on the generated geometries, without ever leaving the VR application. That solution allows designers to fully embrace VR facilities, allowing them to experience full-scale geometries from a realistic point-of-view and truly feel immersed right next to them.
In this paper, we discuss how to extend the above solution with support for live collaboration. This requires addressing a variety of related challenges such as bandwidth and latency issues, conflicting intents, and virtual co-presence. We describe these challenges and presents ways to tackle them.