The Volkswagen Virtual Engineering Lab situated in Wolfsburg has opened the doors of future car designing process for the company. The Lab consists of big screens integrated with software codes and it also has the 1:4 scale model of the VW Golf. Frank Ostermann, a computer science graduate, uses voice commands and gestures to makes several changes like replacing the rear lights, modify the wing mirrors, change wheels in fraction of seconds. The software was developed in the virtual engineering Lab so as to facilitate the engineers and designers.
Ostermann wears the 'HoloLens' that is the mobile computer developed by Microsoft works over a physical object via voice commands and gestures. In the picture, the R-line Golf model can be seen which later on gets transformed into a newer version. The new version can be seen in the dealerships after six months.
“At Volkswagen, we have been using augmented reality and virtual reality for some time, mainly to obtain a three-dimensional view,” says Ostermann. “We are now taking a major step forward at the Virtual Engineering Lab. We are transforming this technology into a tool for Technical Development. This will allow Volkswagen engineers to work on a virtual vehicle, to change its equipment as they wish and even to design new components virtually. They will be able to see the results of their work immediately.”
“We are cooperating very closely with our colleagues from Technical Development and are already close to the first new vehicle concepts and design studies,” Ostermann reports. “We contribute our know-how for technical product development and offer tailor-made solutions for all Group brands in the fields of virtual engineering and systems engineering.”
The HoloLens software uses augmented and virtual reality that saves lots of time and cuts development cost and also makes the design process fast. Presently, the HoloLens software is in the trail phase. The developers will begin testing the software on other range of Volkswagen cars in the near future.
"Just a few years ago, this was all science fiction," says Ostermann. "Now it is clear that this is how we will be developing our next models."