An insider's look at Ford's virtual reality design tools
These days development is done on 20-foot ultra-high resolution displays with real world testing done in a virtual world. Designers can experience nearly every aspect of a future vehicle before any physical piece is constructed. Ford even employs virtual tools for the manufacturing phase to maximize efficiency there as well.
I recently got a close look at a bunch of these tools and processes. I was granted access to everything from Ford’s gigantic full vehicle motion simulator to the gigantic video wall. These are some impressive toys.
Powerwall
Imagine a large room with a single computer workstation and a 20-foot screen as its display. That basically Ford’s Powerwall. It’s a place where designers to executives to auto dealers can gather and get a high-res look at Ford’s current and future lineup.
The Powerwall rooms are also equipped for worldwide collaboration and any one of them can host virtual meetings with the other seven Ford Powerwall studios found across the globe.
(Sorry for the pics. It’s nearly impossible to show the sheer scale of this screen. Use your imagination and picture those images 20-feet wide and you’ll get the idea.)
Programmable Vehicle Models
The goal here is to allow designers and engineers the ability to test out their designs without building a full-scale working model. Nearly everything from seating position to steering wheel position to blind spots can be evaluated and worked out.
It really has a WOW-factor. Once you don the glasses and sit in the single elevated seat, it really gives the feeling of being in the vehicle.
VIRTTEX
A 24-ft dome houses a full-size vehicle — in this case a Taurus X crossover — that’s connected to a series of computers. Hydraulics, five projectors, and a bunch screens then immerses drivers in a virtual world.
Virtual Manufacturing
Full-body motion capture suits are used to generator baseline manufacturing tolerances. The end result is that many manufacturing tasks are now designed so both a 6-foot male and a 5.2-foot female will be able to do preform the same task. If the man’s big hands can install a tiny plug deep in an engine compartment than so can the female’s smaller hands.
This drives down the high-cost of manufacturing later on. The company can plan out a line workers exact tasks before the vehicle ever hits the assembly line.
On Ford’s openness
The more interesting story, at least to me, is Ford’s open access to all these tools. Our access wasn’t something I sought out. We were invited along with other outlets to view all these tools. That’s something many companies would never do and when some actually open their doors, everything but the specific subject matter is covered by a conveniently-placed white sheet.
Of course we had to sign a confidentiality agreement just in case we saw any unannounced vehicles, but that’s normal and fine by me. Ford basically opened their door and said to a bunch of curious journalists, “Come on in, take a bunch of pictures of our design tools, and ask our engineers any questions you have.” Apple could learn a thing or two from this type of access and transparency. It’s refreshing.