General Motors Selects Engineering Animation as Immersive Virtual Reality Partner

Strategic Insights -

General Motors has selected Engineering Animation, Inc. as its immersive virtual reality partner to deploy immersive virtual reality solutions worldwide at its global engineering centers. This partnership enables critical decisions to be made without the creation of physical prototypes, leveraging innovative technologies such as CAVE(R) and PowerWall(R) environments. As part of this initiative, GM aims to accelerate the development of a virtual vehicle, reducing the number of physical prototypes and related costs.

Key Takeaways:

  • General Motors has chosen Engineering Animation as its immersive virtual reality partner, leveraging EAI's solutions to accelerate product design processes.
  • The partnership will deploy immersive virtual reality solutions in CAVE(R) and PowerWall(R) environments at GM's global engineering centers.
  • The project, dubbed "ProductVision(TM)," aims to create an integrated solution for product design, styling, and engineering review.
  • Researchers at the General Motors Research and Development Center developed the first effective automotive application of immersive virtual reality, known as VisualEyes(R), in CAVE and PowerWall environments.
  • Immersive virtual reality is a key component of GM's global visualization strategy, aiming to reduce design cost and cycle time through virtual vehicle definitions.
  • The partnership between GM and EAI will incorporate user interface, rendering performance, and data integration to provide seamless integration into GM's workflow.
  • GM's selection of EAI's immersive visualization solutions underscores EAI's commitment to provide GM with its visualization needs in one integrated environment.

Statistics:

  • In September 1998, GM announced the use of interactive computer tools across the corporation to save development time and costs.
  • GM's immersive virtual reality environments will enable the use of full-size images that are quite realistic and viewable by multiple people to improve decision making within the vehicle development process.
  • The early VisualEyes research demonstrated significant benefits, leading to the rapid adoption of immersive applications in design, engineering, and manufacturing areas.
  • GM's investment in visualization facilities has paid off by reducing the need for expensive and time-consuming physical prototypes.

Sources:

  • EAI Press Release, March 8 [no date mentioned]
  • General Motors Press Release, September 1998
  • Interview with Kirk Gutmann, GM Information Officer
  • Interview with Diane Jurgens, GM Director of Global CAD/CAM and Visualization Technology
  • Interview with Bob Tilove, GM Research and Development Lab
  • Interview with Tom Sanderson, GM VisConcepts Project Manager
  • Interview with Matthew Rizai, EAI President and CEO