ARCADE: an interactive playground for immersive topology optimization

Abstract Topology optimization (TO) has found applications across a wide range of disciplines but remains underutilized in practice. Key barriers to broader adoption include the absence of versatile commercial software, the need for in-depth knowledge of the methodology from the user, and high computational demands. Additionally, challenges such as ensuring manufacturability, tuning hyper-parameters, and integrating subjective design elements like esthetics further hinder its widespread use. Emerging technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality offer transformative potential for TO. By enabling intuitive, gesture-based human–computer interactions, these immersive environments bridge the gap between human intuition and computational processes. They provide the means to integrate subjective human judgment into optimization workflows in real time, creating a paradigm shift toward interactive and immersive design. Here, we introduce the concept of immersive topology optimization (ITO) as a novel design paradigm that leverages augmented reality for TO. By incorporating real-time human interaction during the optimization process, and the subsequent visualization of the design in its intended target location, ITO has the potential to reduce lead times, enhance manufacturability, and improve design integration. To demonstrate this ITO design paradigm, we present : Augmented Reality Computational Analysis and Design Environment. Developed in Swift for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, enables users to define, manipulate, and solve structural compliance minimization problems within an augmented reality setting. We provide the source code in Swift for the optimization procedure. While initially demonstrated for minimizing compliance, our framework could also be extended to other disciplines, paving the way for a new era of interactive and immersive computational design.