As complex as they come, cars became affordable and socially crucial goods that are playing a big role in our lives. Every day, we see hundreds of them, and most of the people that belong to western society own one. It’s pretty clear that the automotive revolution has enabled us to purchase and use cars as commercial products, available for the masses.
Earlier mentioned revolution came as a result of innovation – the development of assembly-line technology that allowed producers to provide for the international market. With the new production model, the process got faster, more precise, and – what’s crucial from the business perspective – much cheaper. Then came the automation – new machines, new specializations, fewer errors, and even faster pace of work.
At this point, in terms of the assembly, companies have started to depend more on the technology than the actual human workforce. However, the creative and technical strategy is still the power of engineering minds and concept artists – the ones that make cars something more than just a tin can on four wheels. And now, thanks to the AR and VR solutions, they received access to a wide palette of brand new tools that can largely improve their work, in a completely new sense.
Since we are talking about the design, the newest Toyota case study shows significant improvements in the way constructors test their vehicle’s aerodynamics and other physical characteristics. For example, with the mixed reality gear, teams gain an ability to project a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation using smart glass technology like HoloLens 2. It’s being tested right now but the latest results really are promising.
The main goal of this solution is to easily adjust the MR software to any given vehicle, making the analysis a real-time process that shows the results for many different scenarios (at startup, upon acceleration and deceleration). It also can be shared between different employees, improving communication and giving them faster access to all the technical features.
With the immersive technology, designers and concept managers can achieve even better quality and accuracy, having a clear view of what they actually going to present to the clients.
As you can see in the video above, there are also astonishing VR solutions for the collective testing of prototype vehicle models. The designers can now use the virtual laboratory, where issues like user experience or design features can be solved long before the final project revision. Using manual controllers, employees can see how their construction behaves in different environments, situations, and settings, projecting various preferences of the drivers and passengers.
Moreover, using augmented and virtual reality in the automotive industry isn’t the only way to enhance the construction and design of the products. These tools can also serve as an advanced planning system for the whole production area – allowing logistics specialists to create the most effective production plant system in a given space, affecting the whole company workflow – regulating and optimizing all the industrial processes.
Automotive is one of the most inventive branches of the industry. Using VR systems, companies can simultaneously work on many new projects, avoiding great costs whilst gaining a chance to carry on wide tests and picking even more valuable ideas. It’s a long term creative boost that they need.
Lastly, but most importantly, innovative VR & AR systems are a crucial factor in the modern manufacturing stages of production. Used by the engineers and mechanics, this technology gives them a whole new look at the modern mechanisms, from the engines to electrical and electronic components.
Employees are now able to learn about construction and assembling principles with the remote trainers, using interactive models, or fully automatic step-by-step training courses.
VR and AR technology also mark a far better approach to direct bug-fixing, at any time during the conceptual process, given the newest communication and reporting methods – vocal commands, sharing photos and visual material, as well as even fast and effective conference calls.
The way new technologies change competences of the automotive industry staff is really breathtaking, especially when every other need can be easily translated into the code and applications that give us, in fact, ready-to-use solutions. While the biggest companies are gradually getting into this new world of VR and AR, we are also feeling ready to be a part of the next industrial revolution. Are you?