Verbal Constraint Management for Shape Conceptualization

Studies on natural communication in shape modeling show that both direct manipulation of geometry and the expression of constraints are essential. Current solutions on constraint-based modeling do not support the verbal management of constraints. This paper presents a scheme to recognize and manage geometry-related constraints verbally. The execution and interpretation of constraint management actions is done based on a constraint library and a focus stack. As there are implicit and explicit relationships between the constraints and the geometry, special attention is given to propagate changes among them. A 2D Java implementation was made that supports a limited set of the proposed functionality. The proposed scheme seems capable of dealing with dynamism in geometric constraints, a shifting focus in discourse, and the possibility to use multimodal input. Its use is not limited to singleuser situations. In collaborative design, similar notions in the verbal and multimodal dialogue apply.