Audi Tests Production in Virtual Reality

A press release from Audi AG said the automaker checks individual assembly steps of new models during the “pre-series development” phase by using, basically, a video game. Using projectors, three-dimensional images of parts are displayed on a floor and a wall, and Audi engineers can delve into this virtual world using 3D glasses, the release said.

The virtual components can then be controlled by using a controller from a video game console, according to Audi. However, to take this virtual reality development to the next level of realism, Audi said it is utilizing a product called the Myo — an armband reportedly developed in the gaming industry for gesture control.

Audi Development Engineer for Virtual Validation Katharina Kunz said, “We want to make picking up and moving the components more intuitive in the future.”

According to the release, the Myo armband measures muscle currents in the forearm to deduce how the user is moving his or her hands and fingers — to ensure unintended movements don’t register, the user activates the system by touching their thumb and middle finger. That motion info is then sent to a computer via Bluetooth technology, Audi said. That computer reportedly collects position information of the armband user by utilizing an overhead-mounted infrared camera.

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