Bachelor Thesis - Virtual Reality strategy from a product development perspective

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is proving itself to be a powerful tool with immense potential that allows engineers and operators to be immersed into a Virtual environment. This offers the opportunity to inspect, evaluate and interact with 3D designs and provides a sense of scale and spatial understanding that enhances the evaluation process of manufacturing and developing new products. This bachelor thesis explores the potential of VR and AR technologies that can be beneficial for the product development process of Berg Propulsion. The aim of the thesis is to develop a strategy for effectively utilizing VR and AR, as well as to create an interactive VR-application using Unreal Engine 4 (UE4). The research findings demonstrate that VR and AR can bring significant advantages to Berg Propulsion, including improved design visualization, simulation, and prototyping. The VR-application developed in UE4 showcases the implementation of interactive functionalities, bug fixes, and a reset button for returning objects to their original position. This thesis will show that UE4 offers a user-friendly interface and scripting system for creating interactive experiences. A comparison between Unreal Engine and Unity will be highlighted to show not only their differences in programming languages and visual coding options, but also clarify the best program to use for VR-applications