Masters Thesis Defense “Virtual Reality and Analysis Framework for Studying Different Layout Designs” By Madison Glines

Committee:  Drs. Thomas Wischgoll, Advisor, Pratik J. Parikh (BIE), and John Gallagher

ABSTRACT:

This thesis describes the tools for studying different design prototypes. The goal was to develop effective tools to study these design using a data-driven approach. “Proof of concept” experiments were conducted, in which participants were allowed to interact with a virtual environment depicting different designs as data pertaining to their virtual location and orientation was recorded for later analysis. The designs included “flat” store racks, as opposed to racks with more varied shapes, as well as “curved” racks. Focus of the design studies was to assist in identifying optimal locations for different product types. The automated data collection mechanisms required specialized data analysis tools which were also developed throughout this work. For the study mostly full-scale walkable VR displays were used. However, this thesis also includes some discussion on potential avenues for expanding this project, such as the use of VR headsets.