Bulk simulation of physics and interaction aspects of products: formal underpinnings and proof-of-concept implementation
by Wilhelm Frederik Van der Vegte; Zoltán Rusák
J. of Design Research (JDR), Vol. 12, No. 1/2, 2014

Abstract: Researchers have put much effort in optimising physics simulations for real-time interaction with human subjects in virtual product testing. But what if we could simulate faster than humans interact? Then, non-interactive setups with virtual human subjects offer new opportunities: fast simulations of long-term use or trials varying designs and users can increase chances of uncovering use-related problems. We postulated this to be applicable especially if computation-intensive physics phenomena can be neglected or simplified, for instance in information-intensive products. Further, simplifying a previously introduced reasoning model, we provide a novel concept and theory underlying scenario-bundle-based bulk simulation with automata-based representations. We applied a proof-of-concept implementation to a practical case, demonstrating the faster-than-real-time advantage and showing how what-if studies can produce valuable outcomes. Our research approach involved: 1) literature study; 2) theory deduction based on propositional logic, theory adaptation and integration; 3) experimental proof-of-concept application and testing; 4) quantitative data analysis of multiple simulations. Future work aims at simulating cognition, automatic batch scheduling and scenario generation, and further validation.

Online publication date: Sat, 26-Jul-2014

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