Abstract: A high-efficiency navigation strategy is proposed for virtual assembly environment of
large-scale products. Based on the theory of cognitive psychology and ergonomics, a workspace of
human hand is constructed. Then the workspace is divided into object operation space and viewpoint
navigation space. Finally a motion mapping relationship between human hand and viewpoint is
developed. It has been proven by experiments that the users can easily navigate the virtual environment
in the virtual assembly process. So the two interactive modes, object operation and scene navigation,
can be integrated seamlessly.

Key words: virtual assembly, ergonomics, motion perception, viewpoint navigation