Direct manipulation of feature models in web-based collaborative design

Providing advanced 3D interactive facilities to users of a client-server collaborative modeling system presents a great challenge when thin clients are involved, mainly due to their lack of both a full-fledged CAD model and adequate modeling and solving functionalities. This paper presents a new approach that provides a convenient representation of feature model data suitable for direct manipulation of feature models at such clients. In particular, feature handles are proposed to support interactive feature editing. This approach combines all advantages of a thin client approach with the sort of 3D direct manipulation facilities usually only found in powerful standalone CAD systems.

@InProceedings { BVB04a,
  author       = "Bidarra, Rafael and Bunnik, Andre van and Bronsvoort, Willem F.",
  title        = "Direct manipulation of feature models in web-based collaborative design",
  booktitle    = "CD-ROM Proceedings of the 2004 ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Conference",
  month        = "sep",
  year         = "2004",
  publisher    = "ASME, NY",
  address      = "Salt Lake City, UT",
  url          = "http://graphics.tudelft.nl/Publications-new/2004/BVB04a"
}