Virtual Manufacturing in Motown

Detroit, the manufacturing hub of the Rust Belt, may soon be as well known for its next-generation technologies as it is for its automotive assembly plants. EDS, an international information technology company, has opened the Detroit Virtual Reality Center, one of the first commercial VR centers in the world. While not open to the public, the Detroit VR Center will work closely with educational organizations ensuring students and teachers are apprised of the latest advancements and developments.

Virtual reality allows companies to bring employees from all phases of the manufacturing side into the design process much earlier, from those involved in the initial conceptualizing to post-production maintenance. VR is also being used for training purposes, allowing a company's best technology and personnel to be widely used in a number of locations, at any time.

The center is used to demonstrate a variety of advanced computer technologies from 40 high-tech companies, universities and government organizations. Automotive engineers, manufacturers and designers will be among those who will use the center to develop VR applications for improving efficiency and reducing costs, according to Bob Voilers, the center's director. In addition, EDS, as an integrator, will sell the products now on display at the center.

Several suppliers of virtual reality products are participating in the Detroit VR Center. StereoGraphics Corp. (San Rafael, Calif.), for instance, will provide its CrystalEyes 3-D stereo eyewear. Viewers will be able to interact with images in three different venues: PC workstations, large-scale projection, and in a VR CAVE (computer-automated virtual environment), which consists of four projectors in a room, immersing the viewer in the image generated by a computer.

One example of a CAVE application is the virtual automobile developed by General Motors R&D; Center, which uses 3-D visualization to help automotive designers and engineers evaluate mathematical models of products without building physical prototypes. The computer image consists of ray-traced imagery and dynamically rendered geometric surfaces so viewers can have the simulated sensation of walking around and then sitting inside a car, which is actually only a computer image. The correct viewpoint of the car's interior is maintained by tracking the viewing position and orientation of the occupant.

Virtual prototyping and virtual manufacturing, as developed by another participant - Deneb Robotics Inc. (Auburn Hills, Mich.) - will also be key elements of the technology at the EDS Detroit VR Center. A number of agile manufacturers are currently using Deneb's 3-D software to integrate multiple engineering disciplines in a single, virtual environment. In this environment, customers, engineers, suppliers, managers, technicians, and operators interact with the product and process design and communicate much more effectively. The ability to rapidly generate multiple iterations of design alternatives helps achieve the optimal design configuration and benefits the customer by minimizing engineering and production costs through Design for Manufacturability; it also reduces the lead time to market.

The virtual environment serves all the life cycle requirements from product design through process engineering work to achieve an optimum configuration. The virtual environment allows comprehensive analysis and reconfiguration "on the fly" to rapidly evaluate multiple "what if" scenarios. The virtual environment replicates the impact of the visual, auditory and tactile feedback without the cost of developing a physical prototype. The virtual prototype can then be analyzed through all stages of manufacturing to verify that it meets both customer requirements and manufacturing criteria for a competitive cost.

Some of the concepts Deneb is demonstrating at the Detroit VR Center include: simulation-based design, concurrent engineering, computer-aided process engineering, mission planning, telepresence, and training.

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