Spatial computing in design: opportunities and challenges of a new technological paradigm

Spatial Computing (SC), the use of technology to blur the boundaries between physical and digital into an efficient, intuitive, high performance set of tools, holds huge promise for engineering design. With dramatic and accelerating industry prominence but little research in the design field, there is a need to generalize and frame SC for design. This paper contributes an operational framework for Spatial Engineering (SE) systems highlighting the roles of physical and digital users, objects, environments, and data, and five capabilities required for implementation. It then identifies value propositions for SE evidenced from review of the design field, including design activities in which value is generated. Finally, it presents research opportunities centered on good practice, system interaction and technology, and balancing overhead with the value that these systems provide.