Virtual collaboration -BMW Group is using technology from the gaming sector . 11.11.2020: BMW #NEXTGen 2020 What does gaming sensation Fortnite have to do with the BMW iX? It’s a question that might leave even BMW connoisseurs and gaming experts with a blank look on their faces.

BMW #NEXTGen 2020



What does gaming sensation Fortnite have to do with the BMW iX? It’s a question that might leave even BMW connoisseurs and gaming experts with a blank look on their faces. And yet the most successful computer game of recent years – it recorded 350 million players in May 2020 – and the BMW Group’s new technology flagship do indeed share common ground: they used Unreal Engine from Epic Games in their development.



What may sound astonishing at first is, on closer inspection, actually quite logical. After all, with the BMW iX embodying the dawn of a new age in driving pleasure, a radical change in thinking was needed in the development process. Existing engineering tools were no longer fit for purpose given the car’s complex specification brief. Added to which, BMW had set itself the goal of elevating the functionality and user experience the BMW iX offers its customers to unprecedented levels.



“We took the development of the BMW iX in totally new directions,” explains Frank Weber, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development. “For example, we used innovative technologies from the gaming industry to visualise the interface between design and technology as realistically as possible. The BMW iX is the first car to be developed using the game engine we modified.”




Partnership with Epic Games.



These were two important reasons why BMW decided to rethink the development of the BMW iX from the ground up. The company contacted Epic Games back in 2015 – and it wasn’t long before it became the first carmaker to introduce a mixed-reality system into the vehicle development process in which components from the gaming industry played a central role. The system is based on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4, which also powers Fortnite and the racing simulator Assetto Corsa Competizione.



“Today, gaming technologies offer many of the functions – for example, virtual reality and the interaction between users – that we are lacking in our engineering tools,” explains Matthias Oberhauser, Product Owner Design and Virtual Product Experience BMW. “That’s why we have taken a lead from gaming technology for this project. In 2015 a small team at BMW set about modifying the game engine so we could use it in vehicle development.”



The tech duly saved a considerable amount of time and money in the early development stages, in particular. Before this system started work, virtual reality testing was only possible with the help of expensive, specialised equipment. Using consumer electronics gave the developers a previously unimagined degree of flexibility, as they could implement and test changes extremely quickly. In addition, developers around the world could get involved in decision-making from wherever they happened to be, removing the need to travel long distances. Only when designs have been assessed in virtual reality and using 3D glasses are they turned into physical models for further testing.



“When BMW came to us, we were surprised at first,” recalls Doug Wolff, Business Development Manager, Manufacturing Epic Games. “But then we were really excited about the idea of using innovative technologies from the gaming sector in vehicle development – especially at the interface between design and technology. You can certainly say that BMW leads the way in both the automotive industry and beyond when it comes to collaboration tools based on game engines.”




Mixed reality assists BMW iX development.



However, BMW went a step further in the development of the BMW iX. An example here is its use of technology for the car’s spectacular interior. As visual impressions are often not sufficient in this area, BMW employed a reusable interior design. The use of rapid prototyping – a fast-paced process for manufacturing sample components – adds a mixed-reality dimension to the development process. I.e. it benefits from the intelligent combination of surfaces you can actual feel and control elements presented using virtual reality.



The result is an all-encompassing experience enhanced even further by accurate reproduction of the signature BMW engine sound, for example. Using the virtual reality model allows the vehicle to be experienced in a variety of environments. The totally realistic vehicle impression created in this way is currently unique in the automotive industry.



The ability to present vehicle functions and new interior concepts extremely quickly by means of these visual experiences in the virtual reality space opens up various new avenues – for example, simulation of journeys through cities. Here, it is possible to test aspects including visibility over the area around the car and to check how different viewing angles and seating positions affect the view of a display on a screen or how difficult it is to reach. This gives the development engineers the impression of experiencing a real-life road situation inside an actual car.




BMW Group extends use of gaming technology into other areas of the company.



The BMW iX is the first car to have been developed at BMW using gaming technology. It meant the engineers and designers were not only able to assess the static geometry of the car, they could also experience the BMW iX and all its functions virtually at every stage of the development phase.



However, for BMW this is only the beginning. The potential of gaming technology for future projects is enormous; it is capable of revolutionising not only vehicle development but also other areas, such as design, production and sales/marketing. Indeed, the BMW Group is already employing the short development cycles of consumer technology in many other areas of the company.



And it has now developed the technology into a platform which is used in almost all processes and is being further expanded. Other BMW projects – such as factory planning and sales organisation – are now learning and benefiting from the experiences gained in the production of the BMW iX.






Matthias Schepke- photos BMW