Developing the concept and the virtual exhibition itself is quite a time-consuming process. Special attention should be paid to the creation of equipment prototypes in the virtual exhibition complex VR Expo World.

Every detail and detail is important here, because the presented models of equipment must exactly replicate the structure, equipment set and be externally authentic with their counterparts in the real world. Even the sound made by virtual models should correspond to the sound made by real equipment.

Stages of development of virtual models of equipment

Before starting work on the creation of models of equipment, developers carefully examine the future VR exhibitor’s photos, drawings and all kinds of documentation related to the equipment to be placed.

If you break down the modeling process into steps, they look something like this:

• collection of data;
• work with terms of reference and model material;
• prototyping in 3D;
• creation of the main 3D model;
• rendering
• texturing;
• integration into the “engine” followed by setting materials and display;
• adjusting the logic of the model in the engine;
• testing

Let’s take a brief look at some of the steps in creating a virtual hardware model:

Collect data, work with TOR and material for the model

We already mentioned a bit about this at the beginning of the article. Is gathering the necessary photos and information about the real equipment to transfer it into the virtual space, while maintaining a full resemblance to its counterpart.

Prototyping and creating the basic 3D model

After collecting data and necessary information, work begins on the creation of virtual models of the equipment. In these stages, VR Expo World developers create individual pieces of future equipment and connect them into a single 3D model.

Rolling and texturing

The flattening is done in separate software. The model is cut into elements, and then textures are made based on those elements. This is like making clothes: there is a pattern, it is two dimensional. When texturing, materials are created based on the photos of the object. Many parameters are manually adjusted. You do small scuffs, shagging, and other small things.

Integration into the “engine”, customization of materials, display and model logic

The basic model of the equipment is assembled. Now we need to “move” it into the virtual exhibition center. There’s work on the configuration of materials, lighting, the display of the 3D model and other components. Adjusted the logic of the equipment (according to the technological features and the provided technical documentation), the possibility of interaction with the equipment, the sequence of user actions, etc.

Testing stage

In this stage the equipment undergoes final testing with the necessary adjustments, improvements and elimination of all defects

We have analyzed the main stages of creating a virtual model of the equipment, which may differ from those proposed by us.

To summarize the above, the process of developing a virtual model of the equipment is a complex, time-consuming process in which every detail and accuracy of execution is important. After all, it depends on how the equipment will look and work in the virtual VR Expo World environment.