VR-BESO: A VR-based structural design tool
Last updated
Last updated
Welcome to the VR-BESO user guide.
VR-BESO is a novel interactive structural design tool based on virtual reality (VR) [1,2]. This tool integrates VR sculpting and topology optimisation techniques to generate innovative, lightweight, and efficient 3D structural designs. VR-BESO allows designers to immersively and intuitively observe and interact with 3D models. By alternatively using VR sculpting and executing topology optimisation, a human–computer collaboration is established to improve the efficiency of design exploration and the quality of optimised structures.
Unique features:
Immersive modeling environment
Intuitive interaction experience
Rich design freedom
Iterative design exploration
Reliable structural performance
This guide covers all the basics, such as installation, GUI instruction, and detailed tutorials.
Have fun with VR-BESO :)
*Another software related to VR-BESO is called iBESO, which is used for 2D structural design [3–6].
Installation – detailed installation instructions
GUI – a description of the graphic user interface
Tutorial – VR-BESO tutorials
Zhi "Albert" Li, Ting-Uel "Jeff" Lee, Yi Min "Mike" Xie
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Australian Research Council (FL190100014).
VR-BESO is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
[1] Z. Li, T.-U. Lee, Y.M. Xie, Interactive 3D structural design in virtual reality using preference-based topology optimization, Computer-Aided Design 160 (2025) 103532.
[2] Z. Li, T.-U. Lee and Y. M. Xie, “Exploring and optimizing innovative structures in virtual reality,” in Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2024: Redefining the Art of Structural Design, Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 25–30, P. Block, G. Boller, C. D. Wolf, J. Pauli and W. Kaufmann (Eds.), 2024, pp. 1–10.
[3] Z. Li, T.-U. Lee, Y. M. Xie, "Interactive structural topology optimization with subjective scoring and drawing systems," Computer-Aided Design, vol. 160 (2023) 103532.
[4] Z. Li, T.-U. Lee and Y. M. Xie, “Topology optimisation considering subjective preferences: current progress and challenges,” in Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2023: Integration of Design and Fabrication, Melbourne, Australia, Jul. 10–14, 2023, Y. M. Xie, J. Burry, T.-U. Lee and J. Ma (Eds.), 2023, pp. 2430–2440.
[5] Z. Li, T.-U. Lee, Y.M. Xie, iBESO: An interactive topology optimization design tool, RMIT University (Apr 2023).
[6] Z. Li, Interactive Structural Topology Optimisation Considering Subjective Preferences, RMIT University, 2024.
