Virtual Reality

This paper focuses on the investigation of current technical challenges in the context of industrial Virtual Reality (VR)-based training applications. This paper analyzes the current state of the art of industrial VR applications and provides a structured overview of the existing technical challenges. The identified challenges are discussed based on an industrial training scenario for the safe handling of electrical components.

The methods presented allow the splitting of classic monolithic numerical controls of industrial robots and machine tools into their functional units. The core functionalities can then be brought onto different computers in even separate places. Using techniques of augmented reality allows enriching a captured scene with additional information, as a virtual model of the industrial robot or the planned paths. Combining these approaches leads to a simplified programming task for industrial robots as the programs can be visualized in their context. This decreases setup time and improves quality.

The third industrial revolution culminated in the Computer Integrated Manufacturing but limited computing power and the dystopia of a deserted factory prevented its success. Industry 4.0, however, stands for the integration of people, technology and organization. Based on the networking of products, tools and means of production become all relevant information available. The combination with cloud computing and big data enables the analysis and utilization of such information.

Technologies such as Digital Mock Up (DMU) or Virtual Reality (VR) help to expose and fix design errors at an early stage in the product development process. Nevertheless the discovery of these potential problems is still a common obstacle. The approach introduced within this paper improves the existing virtual product validation method by using the company’s existing knowledge of former projects. The DMU-Cockpit integrates the usually spread experience of known errors in one tool by modelling a relation between classified components and sources of error in a matrix. This allows the automatic selection of potential sources of error for a chosen part and derives the most valuable validation tasks of the knowledge base.

Flexible and quick adaption to changes in design and technical requirements or order quantity is a key factor in the commercial vehicles sector. Due to higher wage costs, European production sites need also efficient and well organized assembly processes. This paper details the implementation of a Virtual Reality System. Using Virtual and Mixed Reality Systems assembly processes can be optimized for production at a very early stage in the design process.

To evaluate research approaches in logistics, tests are indispensable. For enhanced research in logistics worldwide well established labs could take a major role to shorten development cycles. However, often remote access to necessary resources in the different labs is not possible. In this context a new opportunity for a technology driven access to supply chain labs could be established to increase the availability and user friendliness as well as the utilization rate of existing infrastructures. In the present article the remote access through a web based interface is introduced. The system has been developed within a two year student project in collaboration with the computer science and production engineering department at the University of Bremen.

Within the last few years there was a growing trend at universities to establish so called Virtual Reality laboratories as special work places. This trend follows the need for better visualisation, both of research findings and of teaching content. The use of Virtual Reality systems for educational purposes at universities improves the imparting of complex issues and therefore enables a faster and more purposeful expert education. The visualisation of the relevant teaching content, using the virtual-interactive environment in combination with practical training, will help to improve the training results [1]. This paper outlines the potentials of the Virtual Reality technology for the university education.

Virtual Engineering is an important tool to verify and optimise products in early design phases. For the development of innovative complex technical systems the applied models should comprehend the most important product properties. Up to now there are deficits in modelling and evaluating the acoustic behaviour of technical products although this is important in areas with rigid ergonomic and comfort requirements, e.g. in the consumer goods and automobile industries. In order to overcome these deficits, at the Ilmenau University of Technology a flexible audiovisual stereoscopic projection system (FASP) has been constructed. Consequently, investigations of the sound effects of machine components, machines, cars and other products as well as psycho-acoustic assessments of designed products in a virtual environment can be realized.