Explorative analysis in a preliminary phase of hybrid vehicle design by means of tangible interaction

Simulation is used often in the preliminary design phase when there are fewer control parameters thus making it feasible to use tangible visual analysis. Tangible user interfaces and interactions are realized by deploying real objects representing control parameters. Those objects can be moved and rotated in order to interact with computer and direct the visual analysis. We can take advantage of new technologies, such as Microsoft HoloLens, to provide a mixed reality based system for tangible visual analysis. Instead of using generic tokens, as the current state of the art does, we use semantic representatives that can function without augmentation. We also introduce the iconic view, integrated within a coordinated multiple views tool, which depicts input parameters. The iconic view can be used as an alternative to the tangible interface for input parameter specification. The preliminary results indicate that manipulating simulation parameters in a less abstract way helps the experts.