Volkswagen’s new 3D technology assists vehicle development

Wolfsburg, Germany – Turn the steering wheel, adjust the interior mirror, look at how the light and shadow falls on the surface of the vehicle, even see reflections of the body in the rearview mirrors – from now on, Volkswagen engineers and designers can do all this in virtual three-dimensional space without touching a single piece of metal.

Complete vehicle mockup centre – Volkswagen visualization centres. Click image to enlarge

New 3D technology is revolutionizing vehicle development at Volkswagen. Using real-time “Ray Tracing”, 3D objects are displayed, moved and modified instantly and interactively. Thanks to powerful computer technology, large and complex volumes of data can now be processed. Even realistic shadows, refractions of light and reflections can be generated.

Real-time “Ray Tracing” was chiefly developed by Professor Dr.-Ing. Philipp Slusallek of Saarbr