Optimized 3D modeling of virtual retail environments Gabriele Guidi, Laura Micoli Dep. INDACO, Politecnico of Milano Via Durando 38/A 20158 Milano +39 02 23997183 g.guidi@ieee.org, laura.micoli@polimi.it Luciano Ghezzi Beiersdorf SpA Via Eraclito, 30 20128 Milano +39 02 25772-1 luciano.ghezzi@beiersdorf.com ABSTRACT The article shows a methodology developed for surveying, 3D modeling, texture mapping, and real-time virtual navigating large commercial environment (200 to 2000 square meters). Its purpose is to define a process for generating a digital model of a commercial environment and all the products contained in it. Such model allows to interactively design the display areas, verifying the relationship between the building and the furniture, and the location of products on the shelves, through a realistic perception of the virtualized Point of Sale (POS). This approach allows to compress the timing of testing, evaluation and physical implementation of such kind of projects. The consequently reduced time-to-market involves a significant advantage on the competitors for the companies and retailers involved. Categories and Subject Descriptors J.7 [Computer Application]: Real time General Terms Measurement, Experimentation. Keywords 3D acquisition, 3D modeling, virtual reality, shop layout evaluation, virtual retail. 1. INTRODUCTION In the current landscape of instruments and services for commerce, 2D and 3D visualization are nowadays more widely used for supporting strategic choices for management, logistics and purchase [1] [2] . Different tools are dedicated to the POS management thought the shelf layout definition. The planogram management system become the interface between inputs, such as financial and management data, and different outputs like graphic and alphanumeric display schemas. The most advanced applications are based on the 3D virtual replica of the real environment, in this way the visualization of display areas and goods becomes closer to the real experience, and allows therefore a better space management thanks to the simulation of the actual buyer point of view. Some other kind of tools are developed for market research in order to know in advance which will be the consumers behaviors and reduce investments risks. Since 2000 a few companies have proposed software and services for creating 3D environments capable to be navigated in real-time by consumers panels. Acting in such simulated retail environment, these test users generate useful information both for each producer and the retailer, for defining the offer based on the actual preferred items. The web has been used until now to access to catalogs of information. Lately, thanks to the availability of virtual platforms and a growing bandwidth, Internet is going to become a global immersive environment offering several experiential levels. Thanks to these virtual worlds, applications in different areas related for example to chemistry, surgery, industry, military and games, have been proposed for simulating real world situations in a controlled environment. This paper is centered on porting such technologies to commercial environments, where 3D modeling and immersive visualization might become a possible instrument for cooperation between the involved stakeholders (i.e. good producers, retailers and end- users) [3][4][5]. An example of this cooperation concerns the definition of a POS layout according to specific strategies (e.g. highlight some good categories or specific brands among others in the shop display). Digital 3D models usable in a VR environment, especially when displayed at their actual scale, allow to show different design proposals and their variants in real-time. This operating approach allows to accelerate the decisional processes and to reduce the time-to-market. According to the digital reproduction of existing physical items, several project proposals can be implemented and verified in terms of spatial positioning and aesthetic feeling without any physical intervention on the actual POS. Virtual reality application might be definitely positive but, despite this, there are potentialities still unexploited. One of the main reasons it is that the truthful digital reproduction of a commercial environment involve the generation of an huge number of models concerning architecture, shelves and some thousand of displayed products. This may involve long production times and therefore costs not always sustainable by a commercial company. In this paper an application of 3D modeling and Virtual Reality (VR) for interactively redesigning commercial areas is described. It was proposed a semi-automated modeling pipeline in order to obtain a reduced time to generate the single product and the whole environment. Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Conference’10, Month 1–2, 2010, City, State, Country. Copyright 2010 ACM 1-58113-000-0/00/0010…$10.00.