VR in automotive and transport
Immersive virtual reality, in the form of a VR CAVE, is helping to transform the automotive and transport sector. The impact is being felt in how manufacturers design and develop vehicles, testing in areas of health and safety, and the way they market them. Automotive manufacturers can work in an immersive room and manipulate 3D objects during the prototype stage. Meanwhile advanced driving simulators are a cost-effective tool for engineers and researchers in vehicle design, allowing them to evaluate ergonomics or new driver-assistance systems. We are going to examine how virtual reality is disrupting the automotive sector, how it is encouraging innovative problem-solving in transportation, and its applications and impact now and in the future.How VR can improve health and safety in the transport sector
Although the transport sector continues to develop, evolve and embrace technology, health and safety will always be a primary concern. Virtual reality is a logical next step in classroom training for health and safety purposes. Beyond headsets, a VR CAVE system can create an entire, self-contained immersive space. High-resolution projection systems enable operators to experience an illusion of reality, for example when studying how humans interact with traditional or automated vehicles. One such project is the HIKER laboratory, currently the largest pedestrian simulation environment of its kind in the world. It has been designed to support safe, experimental research that can be conducted in a repeatable fashion with a variety of variables. It consists of a walking space with a level of real-world performance that is not possible using head-mounted VR equipment. VR can mimic real-life forces, collisions, different road layouts and weather conditions. It is also helping improve safety in vehicles at the design and development stage. Researchers, designers and engineers can evaluate and analyse the impact of a collision on models even before prototyping them.
Picture: Lorne Campbell / Guzelian