BMW Group Product and Innovation Centre

Press Release

Wiring the World: Three New Studios for Virtual Reality at the Project Building.

The BMW Group’s new Project Building is a whole generation ahead not only in the real, but also in the virtual world: Three of the world’s most advanced simulation systems in vehicle development serve to “build� components, cars and complete production lines in virtual reality or VR for short. This high- tech equipment gives the designers, development engineers and production specialists huge advantages, enabling them to find the best solution for each task quickly and efficiently. Long before the first prototype of a new model generation is built, the looks, design, build qualities and many more features may already be assessed and studied in cyberspace, without one single piece of material being processed or machined up to that point in time.

Powerwall offering unique image quality never seen before.

The Powerwall, a reverse projection screen measuring some 7 metres in width and 2.40 metres in height, is an absolute highlight in the VR Studio, its most special feature being hidden behind the glass screen, which itself weighs several tonnes: Four special projectors in so-called D-ILA technology used here for the first time ever in virtual reality create a highly realistic image of supreme quality. “The unbelievable level of resolution (QXGA) as well as the improved contrast and brightness are crucial in the virtual development of a car�, states Human Ramezani, the man responsible, together with others, for the concept of the VR Studio in the BMW Group’s new Project Building.

Offering tremendous performance of this kind, the new Powerwall is simply perfect for the designers and their work. And with its large dimensions, it is able to present even the long-wheelbase version of the BMW 7 Series or a Rolls-Royce in full 1:1 scale. With the projectors providing resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels, the images presented offer detailed accuracy down to about 2 millimetres per pixel, bringing even the seams on a leather seat out clearly and distinctly.

Computer-calculated stereo images providing a 3D effect.

The projectors are driven by PC clusters incorporating high-end graphic cards. And they, too, ensure optimum precision, allowing variation of all kinds of details from the side panel contours all the way to the seat upholstery in virtual space, shifting perspectives as required. So that although the image presented on the huge projection screen is two-dimensional, this special processing of images and the use of special glasses when looking at the screen ensures a unique, three-dimensional impression.

Looking through these polarisation glasses, your right eye sees only the right stereo image, your left eye the left image. And these images change immediately as soon as you move your position or angle of vision. Sensors follow all of your movements and transform them immediately – ie in real time – into the right perspective.

The Powerwall is particularly well-suited for choosing and approving exterior surfaces, the presentation and assessment of alternative design options in this product development phase hardly requiring any expensive and time-consuming real-life models.

The Powerbench: a complete car in virtual space.

No matter how impressive the spatial effect of such a stereo image may be, the fact remains that all the observer can do is stand in front of the screen: He can look at the car, but he cannot get in. So to provide this additional feature, there are two other VR studios in the BMW Group’s new Project Building, the Powerbench and the five-sided CAVE studio.

The Powerbench is made up of a Powerwall supplemented by an additional projection lying flat on the ground. Also measuring approximately 7 metres in width and 2.40 metres in height, this projection likewise allows the presentation of a complete car in original size – with the big difference, however, that you can walk around or even “through� this virtual car. Clearly, this allows the designer to deal efficiently with questions relating to, say, the “package� of the car, questions which are becoming increasingly significant, given the growing number of functions to be “packed� within the limited space available: The developers are able to “move� through the car until they encounter a three-dimensional presentation of the area and section involved.

Instead of spending a lot of time on design drawings and calculations, therefore, the specialists, benefitting from this visualisation, are able to recognise possible improvements at a glance.

No other car maker uses VR technology to this extent and as thoroughly as the BMW Group within the production creation process.

CAVE – the “electronic dungeon�.

The most intense experience of this three-dimensional virtual world is within the five-sided CAVE, the third VR Studio in the new Project Building. This is a cube-shaped room with edges measuring 2.5 metres in length, where virtual images are projected on to the ceiling, the floor and the three walls.

Working in this “electronic dungeon�, the BMW Group’s specialists for ergonomics and interior design enjoy ideal conditions: They are able to sit down, steer the car and shift gears, see, touch and take decisions – although they are only surrounded by images. VR thus acts as a highly efficient, inter-disciplinary means of communication connecting, say, engineers and designers with one another.

Taking the BMW 5 Series as an example: virtual reality is an everyday development process within the BMW Group.

VR is an essential tool not only in the new studios, but rather at almost every workplace in the new Project Building. The current BMW 5 Series, for example, was developed consistently with the help of VR technology, applying the motto that “no new cars are developed without virtual predecessors�. The basic philosophy followed from the start is that all components must be presented in virtual reality at the earliest possible point and be made available in this form to everybody involved in order to make all the modifications and harmonise all the features of those components even more quickly.

While initially this process involved some 1,500 virtual components, the total number, reflecting the increasing number of details, soon increased to an average of some 3,900 elements in one single virtual car. And with the data on such a virtual car being generally available at all the project specialists’ workplaces, it was easier to understand even the most complex situations and requirements. The result is even faster and, at the same time, better development with a supreme level of quality.

Nineteen VR Studios within the BMW Group.

The three new studios in the Project Building are the latest simulation worlds created by the BMW Group, increasing the overall number of VR Studios within the Group to a total of 19 at the FIZ Centre and at a number of other research facilities and plants.

These studios serve a whole range of different functions and are tailored to specific requirements: Apart from assessing the geometry of components, the package and design of the car, these imaginary worlds also serve to simulate motions and processes. Focusing on the interplay of simulated components, for example, the engine developer is able to examine potential improvements on an engine at a very early point when the engine as such is still nothing but a set of data. Experts in acoustics, in turn, make such a “data car� vibrate in order to learn about its noise effects right from the start and aerodynamicists test the car in a virtual wind tunnel and optimise its shape and dimensions in the interest of perfect streamlining.

Production planning in the virtual factory.

Not only vehicles can be studied and optimised in cyberspace. No – BMW Group production specialists now also conceive complex production processes such as fully automatic press lines, robot systems in the bodyshop, as well as paintwork lines in virtual space.

As an example, they are able to present and assess body panels and the tools required in their production in original size. Engineers in Planning, Development, and Production use VR to determine how a sheet of crude metal is pulled over the imaginary tool and moulded into shape. Simulated drawing and extending exercises of this kind are ideal for analytical purposes, ensuring efficient use of material without having to build a large number of elaborate models and conduct complex test series.

Augmented Reality: help from cyberspace.

The BMW Group is also working on a technology which soon will serve to enhance the real world by adding a virtual dimension: Augmented reality superimposes virtual objects and presentations on a real-life environment seen through special data glasses.

This gives the user wearing such glasses additional three-dimensional information geared to his current perspective and line of vision. Repairing an engine, for example, a mechanic wearing such data glasses sees not only the engine itself, but also virtually animated tools, components, marks or instructions. Such virtual information superimposed on to reality thus supports the mechanic whenever required, allowing him to carry out the necessary repairs quickly and reliably.