Interactive Graphical Representation for Collaborative 3D Virtual Worlds

: Three‐dimensional (3D) virtual worlds have the potential to make a major impact on global design teams by providing an online place that supports distant design activities without designers being physically present. To accommodate designing in 3D virtual worlds for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) domain, there is an urgent need for the development of a representation system applicable in conceptual design and multi‐disciplinary design. Extended from Qualitative Archi Bond Graphs (QABGs) that are developed as qualitative unified representations for buildings, this article presents and demonstrates an interactive graphical representation for collaborative design in 3D virtual worlds. The representation supports multiple design representation subsystems and their interactions that enable designers to better facilitate design collaboration in 3D virtual worlds.