Ford Australia Immersion Lab Uses Hollywood-style Motion Capture Technology

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Upgrades to Broadmeadows virtual reality lab will give Australia-based Ford engineers and designers better access to a virtual world where they can assess future vehicles years before they are built

Ford is one of the first automakers to use new ultra high-definition, immersion technology that enables designers and engineers globally to work together on vehicles in real time with the technology coming to Ford in Australia as part of new investment in the Broadmeadows lab

Existing Broadmeadows lab, built in 2012, to be replaced by larger, cutting-edge immersive virtual environment to offer ultra-high definition first-person views for global designers and engineers working on virtual vehicles in real time

Melbourne, March 31, 2014 – Ford Australia engineers and designers are moving into an ultra-high definition, virtual world thanks to Hollywood-style technology.
Upgrades currently under way at Ford’s Broadmeadows virtual reality lab will provide Australian-based designers and engineers a full ultra-high definition immersive experience by moving to new photo-realistic VRED software from Autodesk.
Ford Australia’s Virtual Reality Centre was commissioned in 2012 and new investment in 2014 will see the first major update of hardware, software and physical lab space to stay at the cutting-edge of immersive virtual reality technology. The upgrades reflect Ford’s commitment to investing in highly-advanced technologies to create higher quality vehicles for customers.
Like a virtual “Second Life” game, but with photorealism, engineers and designers at Ford Australia will be able to experience a car the way a customer would in a showroom. A totally immersive virtual space will allow them to create visual clarity almost indistinguishable from a real car, with subsequent gains to improved vehicle quality and craftsmanship.
“By upgrading to Autodesk VRED software, the Australian immersion lab will offer a higher level of visual fidelity with a display that is 4 times HD resolution. Also, high-definition headsets will allow immersed users to experience a vehicle in full stereoscopic 3D,” said Peter Bunting, APA Digital Innovation Manager.
“VRED software gives us phenomenal realism and allows us to examine aspects of the vehicle with detail we have not been able to realise in the past,” he said. “In many ways, the assessments are more valuable than looking at a physical model.”
One of the key limitations of the current lab is the physical space can only just fit some of Ford’s larger vehicles.
“The PX Ranger is an example of a vehicle that only just fits in the current lab,” Bunting said. “Due to the size of the vehicle, it’s difficult for designers and engineers to step back and view the vehicle from a distance, just as a customer would, without running out of physical space. The new, larger lab will solve this problem.
“It’s an odd problem to have, to not have enough physical space to hold a virtual model but all our models are scaled 1:1 so we need enough physical space in the lab to engage with the full-size virtual model.”
Ford US-based Virtual Reality and Advanced Visualisation Technical Specialist, Elizabeth Baron, said Ford designers and engineers around the world were now working together virtually – inside and side-by-side – on the same product.
“Simultaneously, designers and engineers in different global locations can quickly transition from one car design proposal to another to identify the best option. We can study a lot of alternatives very effectively,” she said.

Updating for the future, becoming global
Virtual technology will be key in helping to deliver improved vehicle quality and customer experiences with new vehicles as Ford grows its global lineup of vehicles.
“International collaboration has enhanced the voice of the customer in the global One Ford plan,” Baron said. “With this technology, designers and engineers can effectively communicate in real-time inside the same virtual model – while realizing the goal of improving vehicle quality.
“The technology overcomes geographical barriers and lets all our design and engineering teams collaborate in real-time in a way we could have only imagined just a few years ago.”
Thanks to the upgraded facilities and new software, engineers will be able to study thousands of elements inside and outside of a vehicle in 4k resolution. This process ensures vehicles that come to market have been painstakingly inspected for usability, consistency and design effects that are now discernible in the sophisticated shadows, reflections and real-world lighting conditions the tools provide.

X-ray vision
Ford’s virtual reality immersion lab not only allows workers to see full-scale 3D models, it also enables engineers and designers to see inside and through a vehicle structure to study how various structural, mechanical and electrical systems interact within the vehicle’s architecture.
Bunting said: “The new Australian lab will be more refined, and allow us to see and understand complex engineering issues while considering aesthetics, design and functionality. We are using VRED to incorporate light and shadow calculations in real time, which adds more depth and authenticity.”
The first Immersion Lab, which began at Ford’s US headquarters in Dearborn in 2007, was instituted to allow Ford designers and engineers to test various styling, craftsmanship and ergonomic options to make improvements to new vehicle design without resorting to expensive and time-intensive physical models.
Ford is one of the industry leaders in the field of melding state-of-the-art motion capture technology, high visual fidelity and immersive virtual reality tools. Using data derived from these tools, designers can improve such attributes as outward vehicle visibility, quality and comfort.


Ford Virtual Reality Centre, Broadmeadows
Hollywood-style motion-tracking cameras capture actual movement of designers and engineers in the lab. This tracking data is then interfaced with the software to recreate physical movement in the virtual environment. Motion tracking allows users to immerse themselves in real-time and the headset provides a 3D view of the entire virtual world.
The system also links Ford workers globally to simultaneously analyse and inspect the same virtual vehicle on a scale not possible before. The new upgrades will provide a higher level of visual quality allowing a virtual experience almost indistinguishable from a real vehicle.
Ford Australia’s upgraded ultra-high definition lab will launch in Q3 of 2014.