Influence of rigid and non-rigid variation simulations when assessing perceived quality of split-lines

Journal article, 2014

Non-nominal visualisation is used to evaluate how geometrical variation influences the appearance of split-lines between components on a car body. Depending on the simulation method, visualised variation can be represented in an unrealistic manner, which can affect the perception of the result. This paper presents a comparative study in which eye-tracking equipment has been used in order to explore whether the interpretation of variation differs between rigid- and non-rigid-based variation simulations during the evaluation of visualised models. Subjects from the automotive industry were asked to evaluate two virtual models where the same amount of variation was represented by rigid and non-rigid models. Eye tracking was used to record how the subjects performed the assessment. The result shows that there is a significant difference in how simulation results are interpreted using rigid versus non-rigid simulation.