Design Meetings Enabled by IPS: Case study with Pilot Test Demonstrator in Industry

Abstract

The automotive industry is constantly growing and evolving to meet the demands of tomorrow. With this, many new technologies are introduced every year to enhance the vehicle development processes with the goal of making every step of the chain faster, higher quality and more cost-effective. This report investigates the current practices, challenges and potential advancements in design meetings within the automotive industry, specifically focusing on the integration of multi-user VR platforms. Through interviews with engineers within the industry, we explore how these processes are conducted today, the difficulties encountered and the necessity for a collaborative multi-user platform. The findings highlight significant issues such as limited interaction capabilities, inefficient communication and the challenges of remote collaboration between global teams. The introduction of a multi-user VR platform is proposed to address these challenges by enhancing real-time collaboration, enabling manipulation of CAD models and improving overall understanding of design changes. Due to the multi-user platform being too immature to do a comprehensive study on, a single-user investigation was made. A comparative analysis of VR and desktop simulations through workshops demonstrates the superior effectiveness and user engagement provided by immersive VR environments. VR simulations offer a more realistic and comprehensive understanding of assembly tasks, highlighting the real issues like spatial constrains and reachability which are often overlooked in desktop simulations. The study’s T-test analysis confirms significant differences in knowledge acquisition and time estimation between the two methods, emphasizing the potential benefits of adopting VR technology in design meetings.