How BMW is speeding up vehicle prototype engineering using augmented reality
How BMW is speeding up vehicle prototype engineering using augmented reality
IT Data Solutions
BMW says that the use of augmented reality (AR) goggles allow real geometries on a vehicle body to be overlaid with true-to-scale holographic 3D models.
BMW is speeding up the process of vehicle concept and prototype engineering by as much as twelve months, using a new augmented reality (AR) application. The application is being used on individual vehicle sections through to complex production stages at BMW’s pilot plant located in the Research & Innovation Centre in Munich, Germany.
The use of AR goggles allow real geometries on a vehicle body to be overlaid with true-to-scale holographic 3D models. This helps in assessing a range of concept variants and assembly processes for future series vehicles flexibly and cost-efficiently without the need for too many test setups.
Vehicles and their components are visualized on a platform linked to the BMW’s product data management system while Computer-aided design (CAD) files of components are drag-and-dropped to the AR goggles. These are then used to reproduce the data in 3D and their original size in a realistic environment. “The AR goggles and CAD data allow to find out much more quickly whether the production worker will be able to fit the component properly later on, in series production,” explains Michael Schneider, head of Complete Vehicle at the BMW Pilot Plant.
