Virtual assembly with physical information: a review

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive survey on the physics-based virtual assembly (PBVA) technology in a novel perspective, to analyze current drawbacks and propose several promising future directions. Design/methodology/approach – To provide a deep insight of PBVA, a discussion of the developing context of PBVA and a comparison against constraint-based virtual assembly (CBVA) is put forward. The core elements and general structure are analyzed based on typical PBVA systems. Some common key issues as well as common drawbacks are discussed, based on which the research trend and several promising future directions are proposed. Findings – Special attention is paid to new research progresses and new ideas concerning recent development as well as new typical systems of the technology. Advantages of PBVA over CBVA are investigated. Based on the analysis of typical PBVA systems and the evolution of PBVA, the core elements of the technology and the general structure of its implementation are identified. Then, current PBVA systems are summarized and classified. After that, key issues in the technology and current drawbacks are explored in detail. Finally, promising future directions are given, including both the further perfecting of the technology and the combination with other technologies. Originality/value – The PBVA technology is put into a detailed review and analysis in a novel way, providing a better insight of both the theory and the implementation of the technology.