BMW Group uses virtual reality to design future production workstations

Virtual reality is increasingly finding use in BMW Group production. A few months before production of the new BMW 3 Series ramped up in Munich, BMW Group planners have completely laid out individual workstations in a virtual world. This includes cockpit preassembly, for example, where the cockpit is put together before being installed in the vehicle. For the first time, building, systems, logistics and assembly planners, together with production employees, were able to assess the whole of the new production area in virtual reality and test new procedures in 3D.

Production of the existing cockpit continued during preparations without any constraints, since planning only took up space in the virtual world. Being able to work with the same data and software also saved specialist departments and production staff a lot of time. Because it is so easy to use, experts were able to assess how much space the new system needed, for example, quickly and easily and incorporate production employees’ know-how in planning from the beginning. Following a brief introduction and without any specialised knowledge, the team of representatives from different specialist areas was able to launch the project immediately. The software handles complex calculations for real-time rendering of all objects in virtual-reality glasses and simulations.