Volkswagen’s Virtual Engineering Lab using Microsoft's HoloLens to design their future cars

Microsoft’s HoloLens has found a home with German automaker Volkswagen’s Virtual Engineering Labs to help create their next generation of cars.

Using the 3D mixed reality PC they manipulate a scale model of a car, change wheels, paint colours, body shape and more all using simple gestures or voice commands.

According to computer engineer Frank Ostermann the technology has already been deployed at six labs operated by Volkswagen Group IT, with plans to move from simple cosmetic work to deeper engineering work on the vehicles.

“At Volkswagen, we have been using augmented reality and virtual reality for some time, mainly to obtain a three-dimensional view,” Ostermann said. “We are now taking a major step forward at the Virtual Engineering Lab.“We are transforming this technology into a tool for Technical Development.”

“We are cooperating very closely with our colleagues from Technical Development and are already close to the first new vehicle concepts and design studies,” Ostermann continued.

The technology allows changes to be made more efficiently and several teams in differed countries to work together seamlessly.

“The teams can directly follow and compare minimal changes to the model and then make a decision. This means that they can reach their goal faster,” Ostermann said.

“Just a few years ago, this was all science fiction. “Now it is clear that this is how we will be developing our next models.”