Ultan Byrne (MArch 2) is presenting a paper on digital simulation entitled, “Input Devices for Interactive Architectural Visualization” at the 2010 Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design.  The work was conducted as part of an Independent Study with Tom Bessai in the summer of 2009.

“Opportunities for the visualization of architectural proposals are emerging at the interface of digital and physical modeling. The course of this research so far has resulted in three explorations of these new possibilities. The three are linked by the general theme of updating digital visualizations based on a user's interactions with a physical model. Each involves a different device for the translation of the user's input into a responsive visualization system. First, the repurposing of an existing device – a Microscribe Scanning Arm – for the coordination of a digital drawing set; second, the implementation of a sliding device for the interactive digital sectioning of an architectural space; and third, the implementation of a computer vision system for interactive digital perspectives. In each of the three cases, visualizations of a digital model respond to the user's interactions with a physical correlate. This paper will briefly introduce the three approaches, explain how they function, and demonstrate their application by means of Autodesk Research's Digital 210 King Dataset.”

http://www.simaud.org/