Subjective Evaluation of Forms in an Immersive Environment

User’s perception of product, by essence subjective, is a major topic in marketing and industrial design. Many methods, based on users’ tests, are used so as to characterise this perception. Methods like multidimensional scaling, semantic differential method, and preference mapping are well known in sensorial analysis or in the food industry. These methods are used in order to built a perceptual space in order to position a new product, to specify requirements by the study of user’s preferences, to evaluate some product attributes, related in particular to style (aesthetic). These early stages of the design are essential for a good orientation of the project. In parallel, virtual reality tools and interfaces are more and more efficient for suggesting to the user complex feelings, and creating in this way various levels of perceptions. In this article, we present on an example an adaptation of multidimensional scaling and preference mapping for the subjective assessment of virtual products. These products, which geometrical form is variable, are defined with a CAD model and are proposed to the user with a spacemouse and stereoscopic glasses. Advantages, uses and limitations of such evaluation is next discussed.