Using Web 3D technologies for involving consumers within the innovation process: an example through an e-commerce application

Abstract

This paper aims to show to what extent the Web3D is an advantage for implementing the Living Lab approach. In order to achieve this objective, we develop a project the context of an Action-Research. A state-of-the-art of Web3D solutions for e-commerce enabled us to select the most suitable functionalities and properties for designing a 3D gates configurator for consumers. A panel of Twenty-seven participants evaluated this tool. Results show that an interactive 3-dimensional visualization of the object is an advantage for the sale, because a single image does not usually allow user to imagine the product in its future environment. The use of Web3D for e-commerce enables consumers to be involved in the design process for co-creating solutions, which is one of the main aspects of the Living Lab approach.