Integration with Quest: Support of Touch Controller

We will enhance the Quest plugin features in UC-win/Road Ver.18.1, including the support of Touch controller.

So far, the Quest integration has allowed the UC-win/Road graphics to be displayed on the head‑mounted display, and operations have been possible using keyboards, as well as separately connected game controllers and steering‑wheel controllers.

To UC-win/Road Ver.18.1, we have added support for using the Touch controllers included with the Quest series to enable free movement, walking, and driving operations.

For normal camera control, users can use the sticks to move the viewpoint forward, backward, left, and right. They can also use the trigger buttons on the Touch controllers to look up and down.

During the walking simulation, users can move and change the camera direction using the sticks. We also improved the walking collision detection so that collisions are now checked based on the HMD’s head position after movement.

During driving, users can operate the steering using the sticks. The accelerator and brake pedals can be controlled using the trigger buttons on the Touch controllers.

To extend scenario operations, Touch controller buttons can now be mapped to game controller buttons. This allows Touch controller inputs to be used as controller button events in scenario transition conditions. These mappings can be configured on the settings screen.

Scenario Function: Enhancement of HMD Integration Settings

In addition to the enhancements for Quest game controller operations, we have also added useful features for creating scenarios when working with an HMD.

One of the new features is the ability to start and stop HMD integration through scenario events. This capability, previously available only with the VIVE plugin, is now supported for Quest integration as well.

Another feature lets scenario events display hand and controller models. When users move the Quest controllers, the corresponding models appear at their respective positions. These hand and controller models can also be used as collision-detection models in scenario transition conditions. This enables more interactive Quest-integrated scenarios, allowing transitions to be triggered by hand movements or controller operations.

Haptics Plugin: Feature Upgrade

With the Haptics plugin, haptic gloves, and a head‑mounted display, users can intuitively and naturally interact with virtual environments by touching and manipulating 3D objects with their hands and fingers.

WEART's TouchDIVER allows users to feel the reaction force of objects, as well as their surface temperature and texture.

The main application areas include simulations and evaluations aimed at optimizing work environments, as well as training that involves assessing work procedures and performing repeated practice.

In addition, it can provide an unprecedented level of immersive VR experiences at exhibitions and museums. The updated version includes the following enhancements.

Integration with UC-win/Road Scenario

This function triggers events in UC-win/Road when users touch objects within the VR environment.

For example, when a user presses a button in the virtual space, this feature can start and stop machines, or switch to another scene.

Human Avatar

The hand model for VR can be replaced with an avatar model, enhancing visual feedback to users and increasing the realism of the VR experience. The human avatar follows the user’s actions based on the movements of the head‑mounted display and hand controllers. In evaluation and training scenarios, advisors can monitor users’ work behaviors and assess them appropriately.

Integration with Replay Function

This feature can record user behavior and interactions with objects in the VR environment, and replay them later. It is mainly used for training and work assessment.

Future Development

To achieve more realistic and precise VR experiences, we will improve collision detection and the physical behavior of objects. We are exploring alternative hand‑tracking methods that do not require a head‑mounted display, enabling the system to be used even when standing in front of a monitor.

J-LandXML Import

The LandXML import capability has been expanded, road cross‑section shapes in the J‑LandXML format can now be imported. Specifically, it supports importing road cross-section shapes represented by the DesignCrossSectsurf elements, and provides mapping between the section category of UC-win/Road and the road section element types defined in J-LandXML. This enables simple visualization of road models expressed in the J-LandXML format.

Users can easily change the appearance of road models by editing the section‑property mappings. In the cross‑section property management screen, users simply select the property element they want to edit and change its texture in the drawing options. For example, if the SlopeCut texture is changed, the appearance updates as shown below.

Enhanced Transition Creation

Normally, sections within road transition areas are generated automatically, and users cannot edit them directly. As a result, unnatural cross‑sections may be created, such as guardrails not being connected correctly, as shown in Figure 7. To address this issue, we added a feature that allows users to specify the connections of composition points before and after transitions, such as the one shown in Figure 7, without changing the composition of road sections.

This function allows users to set two new parameters—block code and code—for composition points.

Future Plan

We have introduced the new features of UC-win/Road Ver.18.1, and we will continue development on the following items for the next Ver.19.0.0.

Integration of F8-AI UC-win/Road Support

We will add the AI Support feature that has already been introduced in the UC-1 series products. This system provides an interface that allows users to instantly resolve questions about input operations and program functions through in-program dialogs with AI. Since the AI responds immediately, users can address issues without any waiting time.

AI‑Based Interactive Data Creation Support

We will implement an AI-driven feature for creating and updating UC-win/Road data. An integration function with the MCP server will be introduced so that the AI (large language model) can understand the data inside the application. For example, users can place objects by entering natural language commands such as "Place lighting roadside objects on Road XX." This feature allows users to perform intended operations easily, even without detailed knowledge of the existing input screens. We are also considering a function in which AI analyzes driving simulation logs to identify driving quality issues and potential problems in the designed roads.

Road Creation by Point Cloud Modeling

This feature will enable users to create road alignments accurately and efficiently. The updated user interface will allow users to edit 3D road alignments and cross‑section shapes while viewing point‑cloud data on the main screen. This will streamline the workflow and eliminate the need to switch between different plan views during alignment editing.

Parametric Creation of Road Cross-Sections

We will implement a function that generates road cross sections using predefined parameters—such as the number of lanes, sidewalk width, guardrails, and medians—when the system cannot recognize cross‑section shapes from point‑cloud data.

J-LandXML Export

For the roads and rivers created in UC-win/Road, we will develop an export function compliant with the J-LandXML specification to strengthen integration with BIM/CIM.

Quest-Integrated OpenXR Support

The current Quest integration plugin supports head‑mounted displays such as Meta’s Quest series. By adding support for the OpenXR standard, we plan to enable integration with a wider range of devices.

Like OpenGL and the glTF file format, the OpenXR standard—developed by the Khronos Group—enables a wide range of VR/AR/XR devices, such as head‑mounted displays and glasses‑type devices, to be used through a common source‑code framework. By adopting OpenXR, we aim to expand the range of supported devices beyond those currently available.

Device manufacturers have announced that future feature enhancements will be delivered through OpenXR. Accordingly, we also plan to support these extended features via OpenXR. As an immediate step, we will implement a passthrough function that overlays the HMD's camera images within the display layer.

These new features are intended to further improve usability of UC-win/Road. We appreciate your continued interest in our future developments.