Virtual reality in product design and robotics

This paper presents the current state of the art and developments in the CAD/CAE and VR research laboratory at Transilvania University in the framework of the project VEGA. First the project context is presented, with the major objectives and work teams designed for researching various aspects of VR applications. Then, the VEGA research infrastructure is presented, with performances and facilities, especially pieces of equipment that have been developed in the department. A flexible solution is presented for the large scale 3D visualization systems, called holo-CAVE. In the second part of the paper, the applications developed are presented for the various fields of engineering and architectural design tasks: design, simulation, virtual testing, virtual navigation, manufacturing and Augmented Reality. All applications prove the use of VR technology.