TeamCAD -- A Multimodal Interface for Remote Computer Aided Design

Abstract

Remote collaboration is a common reality of spatial design processes, but tools for computer aided design were made for single users. Via TeamCAD, we introduce a user experience where online remote collaboration experience is more like working on a table. Using speech and gesture recognition based on state of the art machine learning through webcam and microphone input, TeamCAD plugs into existing software through API's, keybindings, and mouse input. We share results from user studies conducted on graduate students from <removed for double blind review>. Our user tests were run on Blender animation software, making simultaneous use of both modalities for given tasks. We mitigated challenges in terms of robustness and latency in readily available voice recognition models. Our prototype has proven to be an intuitive interface, providing a suitable denominator for collaborators with or without previous experience in three-dimensional modeling applications.