Synoptix and the University of the West of England were awarded funding for an Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) Project entitled “Leveraging Industry 4.0 Visualisation for Cross-Sector Engineering Excellence in UK Industry.”

One of the main challenges within MBSE is the amount of information available to a model viewer, which can be overwhelming if you haven’t been involved in the model development. This project addressed this challenge by simplifying the User Interface, improving visual clarity and developing user-friendly tutorials to help non-specialists engage with the models.

Additionally, the project explored both 2D and 3D visualisation techniques, ensuring that the benefits of each were maximised – while minimising potential drawbacks such as user fatigue in 3D environments.

Our approach

The project was structured into two primary stages: initial research and design, followed by deployment, training and support. The research phase included a comprehensive literature review on MBSE, SysML and XR visualisation techniques, laying the foundation for the development of the XR-based tools. The design and development phase focused on creating – and iterating on – mixed reality features for the HoloLens 2 device, informed by stakeholder feedback gathered during workshops and user testing.

Benefits

The project successfully developed an XR-based visualisation tool to enhance interaction with SysML diagrams through gestures, speech commands and immersive visualisation techniques. The tool was designed to reduce reliance on high contextual memory and to improve model navigation, making it more intuitive for stakeholders.

The implementation of 2D and 3D visualisation techniques was carefully balanced to avoid user fatigue while enhancing the UI for better collaboration.

The success of this project lays the groundwork for future innovations and further collaboration between Synoptix and UWE.