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Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

cnet.com

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Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#51

Post by fipple »

aphextron wrote: post #6
aetherspawn wrote: post #2

They obviously showed a lot of meticulously mated actual 3D components but those were all prepared in a CAD program. Sure, the VR sketch might be useful, but the visual part of the video is quite a lot of marketing spin when it’s not showing the abstract lines. And I’m not sure that VR is the best way to “feel” a car in this way either. A car is an extension of your body, so it’s just as important where/what your sho…

Basically any usage of VR outside of gaming right now is guaranteed to just be marketing nonsense. The hardware simply isn’t there for real world professional usage as a productivity enhancing device. Some day we’ll be there, but the current state of even the most advanced HMDs is little beyond toy prototypes at this point.

You could not be more wrong. A lot of new employee safety training is moving to VR, backup NFL quarterbacks are practicing in VR (since the starting quarterbacks get all the actual time in practice), this is already happening. Not vaporware.

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#52

Post by Impossible »

aphextron wrote: post #47
andybak wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hardware is fine. (What's more arguably lacking is software) Yeah resolution could be better but it's far from being a deal breaker for viz, modelling etc. Curious to hear what you thought the blockers were?

>"Curious to hear what you thought the blockers were?" 1. Resolution is hopelessly too low for working with text 2. Ergonomics too awkward to wear for 8 hours at a time. 3. Total lack of multi-plane focus, no ability to sense depth beyond a few meters These are strictly true for every HMD available, having owned and worked with them all extensively since DK2. I wish it wasn't true either, but it's just where we're at…

All these things are solvable, and there are consumer hmds coming that will solve some of them. Resolution upgrades are happening, ergonomics will improve. One problem with getting these features fast tracked in an HMD is the industry focus on gaming and media and keeping costs low for consumers. A high price enterprise focused HMD with all of the features you mentioned might work with the right software and clients.

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#53

Post by ekianjo »

aetherspawn wrote: post #2

They obviously showed a lot of meticulously mated actual 3D components but those were all prepared in a CAD program. Sure, the VR sketch might be useful, but the visual part of the video is quite a lot of marketing spin when it’s not showing the abstract lines. And I’m not sure that VR is the best way to “feel” a car in this way either. A car is an extension of your body, so it’s just as important where/what your sho…

> I’m not sure that VR is the best way to “feel” a car in this way either.

I'm pretty sure it isn't. Just like about everything in human experience, almost nothing can be replicated just as well in VR. VR can give you a rough sense of space, but your body has no sensation, no touch, no feedback, it's so far from reality that you can't really just rely on VR to design things.

Plus, there are things that you don't notice in short time but need to "sink in" with everyday and long-term usage. This is also very hard to replicate in VR.

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#54

Post by slavik81 »

syntaxing wrote: post #41
jackbrookes wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you assume CAD and VR are mutually exclusive? Interfaces of the future haven't been designed yet - but it's not hard to naively imagine taking any CAD program and turning the viewport into a 3D window. Something that allows you to use your head to look around it, use your fingers to spin the object around, pinch to zoom or other gestures. The rest of the interface could stay the same as it is now and interacte…

I think 3D mouse does pretty much what you ask for though[1]. I'm sure the possibilities are beyond my imagination with VR but I personally just can't see the benefits. Most engineers are pretty good with their abstract of space so I can't imagine VR being a necessity for design. [1] https://www.3dconnexion.com/

I've briefly used one of those. It's a cool little device once you get used to it, but there's definitely a learning curve. By comparison, it's hard to understate how intuitive VR headsets are for controlling your camera. That might not matter for professional drafters, but it would certainly make 3D modelling more accessible to the public in general. I can imagine a future in which 3D models are created and used much like images are used today.

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#55

Post by ryandamm »

ekianjo wrote: post #53
aetherspawn wrote: post #2

They obviously showed a lot of meticulously mated actual 3D components but those were all prepared in a CAD program. Sure, the VR sketch might be useful, but the visual part of the video is quite a lot of marketing spin when it’s not showing the abstract lines. And I’m not sure that VR is the best way to “feel” a car in this way either. A car is an extension of your body, so it’s just as important where/what your sho…

> I’m not sure that VR is the best way to “feel” a car in this way either. I'm pretty sure it isn't. Just like about everything in human experience, almost nothing can be replicated just as well in VR. VR can give you a rough sense of space, but your body has no sensation, no touch, no feedback, it's so far from reality that you can't really just rely on VR to design things. Plus, there are things that you don't noti…

You're comparing VR to being in the car. The correct comparison is VR to a 2D screen, which is what this is replacing/augmenting.

It doesn't need to be the Holodeck to be useful.

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#56

Post by liquids »

Scene_Cast2 wrote: post #24
d-sc wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also design mechanical stuff for a living. I’ve spent multiple days over the course of the past six months creating drawings to demonstrate how a design will ‘feel’ once made. A 1:1 3d model that other stakeholders could walk into would be so much more effective.

As a hobbyist - the CAD tools I've used (Fusion360 and Inventor) - are clunky with arbitrary 3D shapes (e.g. a Porsche door panel). How do people in the "real world" do it? Iterate in Maya / similar and then export? Think in parametric curves? Something else entirely?

An industrial designer would sketch the outline then the images would be brought into parametric CAD software as references. The 2D image can be built into 2D/3D lines, then these curves are used to create surfaces which finally are stitched together. The nature of complex surfaces interacting and joining seamlessly is where the difficulty lies. "A class" surfacing is an entire speciality and can take a career to master. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_A_surface

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#58

Post by pontifier »

I'm surprised there isn't actual CAD software for VR yet.

When I tried tiltbrush for the first time I was immediately struck by how easy it was to create some things, but how much of a pain it was to modify things, or make things like parallel lines or surfaces.

Maybe everyone is waiting for someone else to do it. Even the linked software (gravity sketch) seems to be missing constraints, dimensions, and snaps, though it has control points so modification of existing geometry is at least possible.

What gives?

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#59

Post by FPGAhacker »

FPGAhacker wrote: post #37
wuliwong wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And I’m not sure that VR is the best way to “feel” a car in this way either. A car is an extension of your body, so it’s just as important where/what your shoulders, knees and legs are/feel as to what the eyes can see. Compared to looking at a flat computer screen, I would think this would certainly be a move in the right direction.

It would be in comparison to a full scale clay model. Not a computer screen.

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20161111-why-car-designers-st...

Re: Ford's designers are learning to create 3D cars in VR

#60

Post by acct1771 »

pontifier wrote: post #58

I'm surprised there isn't actual CAD software for VR yet. When I tried tiltbrush for the first time I was immediately struck by how easy it was to create some things, but how much of a pain it was to modify things, or make things like parallel lines or surfaces. Maybe everyone is waiting for someone else to do it. Even the linked software (gravity sketch) seems to be missing constraints, dimensions, and snaps, though…

Why bother just yet, when the most important part/killer feature will be subpar (for now) - reviewing the models in high res 3D.
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