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Audi virtually tests assembly processes for concept car

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Audi is embracing virtual reality (VR) with the Audi e-tron GT concept car. Using VR glasses and controllers, employees from various departments test all assembly processes entirely virtually.

Audi has developed in-house software for the process, which relies on 360-degree scans that provide a three-dimensional indoor map. The technology is being used for the first time at the Neckarsulm site.

Workflows along the assembly line and the associated logistics processes are being tested in “3P workshops”.  3P stands for the Production Preparation Process, and is used for process validation.

[Read more…] about Audi virtually tests assembly processes for concept car

Hyundai reorganises R&D centre structure to streamline vehicle development

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Hyundai Motor Group has begun a series of sweeping changes to its R&D organisations and development processes, enabling greater responsiveness to the changing future mobility technology landscape.

Promoting a keener focus on customer needs, the new approach will also streamline the decision-making and development processes to achieve efficiencies and cost optimisation.

Through reorganisation under Architecture-Driven System-Based Organisation (SBO), technology units at the Group’s R&D Division in Korea will align their operational processes to transform the Group.

[Read more…] about Hyundai reorganises R&D centre structure to streamline vehicle development

BMW highlights application of virtual and augmented reality in production

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Automotive giant BMW is providing an insight into its application of virtual and augmented reality in the company’s production system.

The company says the “fast and flexible” planning of new workstations in production is made possible by virtual reality and digitized 3D factory data.

It’s still a learning process but augmented reality technologies is making it possible to design training courses without any coding knowledge.

It also enables comparison between the camera image and CAD models for fast, straightforward quality checks of parts and vehicles. 

Full story below… 

[Read more…] about BMW highlights application of virtual and augmented reality in production

Sony Semiconductor Solutions acquires network virtualisation firm Mido Holdings

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Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation  has acquired the network virtualisation technology developer Mido Holdings Ltd. Consequently, Mido Holdings has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Semiconductor Solutions.

Virtualisation technologies include virtual network technology, which uses software to reconfigure networks without altering the physical infrastructure of communication devices such as routers and switches, and technologies that virtually integrate and control multiple servers and storage devices.

These technologies are used to build cloud computing systems and other such highly flexible systems.

[Read more…] about Sony Semiconductor Solutions acquires network virtualisation firm Mido Holdings

Volvo Cars and Varjo launch ‘world-first’ mixed-reality application for car development

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Volvo Cars and Varjo, the Finnish maker of high-end augmented-reality headsets, have created what they say is a “world-first” mixed-reality approach to evaluating prototypes, designs and active safety technologies.

The collaboration will be further strengthened by the Volvo Cars Tech Fund’s decision to invest in Varjo. The Tech Fund is Volvo’s venture capital fund, which invests in high-potential technology start-ups.

Volvo Cars and Varjo have made it possible for the first time to drive a real car while wearing a mixed-reality headset, seamlessly adding virtual elements or complete features that seem real to both the driver and the car’s sensors, for development purposes. [Read more…] about Volvo Cars and Varjo launch ‘world-first’ mixed-reality application for car development

Robotic toymaker Anki to close down

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Anki, a startup company which made robotic toy cars and trucks, is planning to close its doors, according to a report on the Recode website.

The company had raised more than $200 million in funding for the venture, and generated $100 million in revenue in 2017, but is now making all of its 200 employees redundant.

In a statement to Recode, the company says that it had been left “without significant funding” which meant it could not finance its hardware and software development plans going forward.

[Read more…] about Robotic toymaker Anki to close down

BMW Group uses virtual reality to design future production workstations

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Virtual reality is increasingly finding use in BMW Group production. A few months before production of the new BMW 3 Series ramped up in Munich, BMW Group planners have completely laid out individual workstations in a virtual world.

This includes cockpit preassembly, for example, where the cockpit is put together before being installed in the vehicle.

For the first time, building, systems, logistics and assembly planners, together with production employees, were able to assess the whole of the new production area in virtual reality and test new procedures in 3D.

[Read more…] about BMW Group uses virtual reality to design future production workstations

Opinion: Augmented and virtual reality ‘open up whole new world of opportunities’

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augmented-reality-glasses atheer

By Douglas Bruey, electrical engineering program lead at Synapse

At first glance, a gamer playing Pokémon Go has little in common with a surgeon saving lives in an operating theatre. But dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that might not be the case for much longer.

Augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are poised to open up a whole new world of opportunities. We’re already seeing the effects of VR when it comes to gaming. But in future could AR add a new dimension to surgery?

AR and VR both have the ability to alter our perception of the world. AR takes our current reality and adds something to it – virtual objects or information. VR, on the other hand, immerses us in a different – virtual – world.  [Read more…] about Opinion: Augmented and virtual reality ‘open up whole new world of opportunities’

How Burger King’s OK Google ad exposed flaws in home automation

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Burger King recently decided to try something different to promote its classic Whopper. The fast food giant aired a commercial in which a Burger King employee who says he doesn’t have time to talk about all of the ingredients in a Whopper comes up with another way for customers to learn about its ingredients.

The employee leans into the camera and says “OK Google, what is the Whopper burger?” This activated Google’s smart speakers — Google Home, and that’s when people started having fun. The actual ingredient list, as published on Wikipedia, was edited with some items replaced with things like children, toe-nail clippings and rat — among other creative ingredients.

Google wasn’t in on the plan, which led to an interesting chain of events that exposed some of the weaknesses of virtual assistants and home automation.  [Read more…] about How Burger King’s OK Google ad exposed flaws in home automation

Virtual factory: Visual Components launches new version of its industrial design application

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visual components robots

Visual Components has launched the latest version of its design application which the company says offers a number of new features and capabilities. 

Visual Components 4.0 is the company’s new range of 3D factory simulation products, designed for manufacturing professionals and built on a “powerful, flexible, and scalable platform”.

The company says the new version offers:

  • smarter simulation;
  • improved user interface refresh;
  • better performance;
  • advanced rendering; and
  • open architecture.

Visual Components was founded by a group of simulation experts with long experience in industry.  [Read more…] about Virtual factory: Visual Components launches new version of its industrial design application