Ricardo develops virtual reality app for global collaborative engineering

Ricardo has developed an advanced virtual reality (VR) app that enables collaborative engineering design reviews to be carried out by multiple users at the same time, in different locations.

The process of formal gateway-based design reviews is crucial to the achievement of performance targets, design for manufacture and assembly, and ultimately, to market success. This challenge is further compounded by the almost universal requirement for collaboration of different specialist teams on an international basis as auto makers seek to develop platforms applicable to multiple markets, as well as drawing on their own engineering resources from multiple locations.

The Ricardo VR Engineering Design Review app enables users to investigate complex CAD designs, at full scale, in a shared immersive VR session, connecting interdisciplinary teams, customers and suppliers across the world in a 3D virtual environment.

A dynamic cross-sectioning tool also allows users to visualize the inner-most components – something that would not be possible even with physical prototypes – while also assessing the potential for component clashes, manufacturability and ease of assembly.

In manipulating the model, users can also take measurements, add 3D annotations, and record screenshots and voice memos.