My vision of Shape 4.0 involves 3D models
evolving from representations to being the interface
to digital content: a teapot will be modeled
as an instance of the concept of teapot, with all
the functional components it should have, and
its geometry will be just one aspect of this object
type. Merging descriptions of an object’s meaning
with geometric models is key to developing novel
modalities of interaction with 3D content. Shape
4.0 digital objects will integrate geometry with
descriptions of functionality as well as behavior
models and modalities of interaction with other
assets or humans. Based more on conceptual descriptions
than on geometric representations, the
smart Shape 4.0 model will be able to sustain interactions
with humans, freeing them to communicate
more naturally in their interactions with
cyber-physical world assets.
To realize this vision, however, we have to rethink
the whole modeling approach, integrating the perspectives
of computer vision and natural-language
understanding. Eventually you will be able to shop
for that elephant-shaped teapot anywhere in the
digital world with the natural forms of interactions
you use for human-human communication.