Through a workshop at The Future Technology for Car Design forum for Volkswagen, Vection Technologies has given some further insight into how its Mindesk software can link several key concept design tools with VR.
Vection Technologies’ director Gabriele Sorrento and global computational designer Arturo Tedeschi presented the design process behind Iris, an original concept for an electric city car, using VR to design the car at 1:1 scale, providing the advantage of understanding the scale and proportions of the project.
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Mindesk for Grasshopper virtual reality interface
The VR experience, made possible by the Mindesk software, enabled Arturo Tedeschi to control the project’s geometry directly in VR, and establishing a double interaction: on one side (Grasshopper), the algorithm reacts to numeric inputs, on the other side (Mindesk), manipulating 3D geometries feed the parametric model in real-time.
For example, Arturo Tedeschi could interact with the curves that defined the shading system of the car roof while inside the car itself, further visualising and understanding how it would actually appear in real life.
The presentation brought together technology from Volkswagen selected key Tier-1 partners McNeel and Associates, T-Systems, Unreal Engine, Varjo and Logitech.
The Mindesk software enables real-time connection between Rhinoceros CAD software and Unreal Engine 4 (Live-Link), making it possible to define the appearance of the automotive materials, including car paint and front lights, while controlling the geometries in Grasshopper.
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Mindesk’s live link between Rhinoceros and Unreal Engine 4
As part of the Iris project design review process, Vection Technologies and Arturo Tedeschi showcased the Logitech VR Ink device integration, a multifunction stylus for use in VR, which claims superior input precision levels over existing handheld paddles.
The Logitech VR Ink device enabled the designers to draw studies of alternative bracing systems for the steering wheels, to establish a limit line for the shading system and to take accurate measures within the model itself.
Gabriele Sorrento, director of Vection Technologies, commented: “Volkswagen’s Future Technology for Car Design event represented a strategic exclusive platform to present our Mindesk and FrameS real-time software to the same car designers and engineers that constitute our end user base.
“The positive feedback we received underpins our confidence in delivering on our stated growth plan within the automotive sector.”
