GM’s high-tech scanner puts vehicles on virtual roads
10-17-2010, 08:08 PM
#1
Team Owner
Thread Starter
GM’s high-tech scanner puts vehicles on virtual roads
May be good for race cars.
Last Updated: October 17. 2010 1:37PM
GM’s high-tech scanner puts vehicles on virtual roads
Christina Rogers / The Detroit News
Buick is tackling the world's roughest, most challenging roads — with a 3-D scanner.
A team of engineers at General Motors Co. have created a high-tech scanner that can record all the bumps and grooves of a road's surface and digitally replicate them on the computer screen.
Advertisement
The goal is to use them in vehicle testing without having to put the cars and trucks on real world roads.
Of course, a virtual road requires virtual tires and a virtual vehicle, which engineers are creating at GM, said Mine Tasci, one of about 10 members on the development team.
"This helps us avoid a lot of late changes in the vehicle's development," Tasci said. "It definitely helps with identifying problems early on."
GM isn't the only one working on testing vehicle designs in virtual worlds, a method becoming more popular as automakers seek to speed up development cycles and be more efficient in troubleshooting problems before cars and trucks hit the asphalt, she said.
Buick engineers typically stick to the rockier roads for scanning because they're favorable for testing durability and bring out the "rattles and squeaks" in the vehicle, Tasci said.
The team has scanned roads at GM's Milford Proving Ground, which also copies real world driving conditions, but with pavement rather than pixels. It recently scanned a road leading to Mexico's Cerro del Cubilete, a "twisting, rocky path" winding its way to a religious shrine.
The Detroit automaker, however, doesn't have to look far for rough terrain. The city of Detroit is notorious for its potholed streets.
When asked whether she might consider taking the micro-detailed scanner over the Motor City's finest cracked pavement, Tasci replied: "That would be pretty nice." The scanning, though, is a slow and laborious process. Recording just a mile stretch of road could take a couple of months. "It would be a pretty major roadblock."
But, she agreed, the city streets would be a good candidate. "We could get a good 3-D model of the bumps and look at what kind of damage it does."
crogers@detnews.com
(313)-2222401
From The Detroit News: http://detroitnews.com/article/20101...#ixzz12fyopDig
Last Updated: October 17. 2010 1:37PM
GM’s high-tech scanner puts vehicles on virtual roads
Christina Rogers / The Detroit News
Buick is tackling the world's roughest, most challenging roads — with a 3-D scanner.
A team of engineers at General Motors Co. have created a high-tech scanner that can record all the bumps and grooves of a road's surface and digitally replicate them on the computer screen.
Advertisement
The goal is to use them in vehicle testing without having to put the cars and trucks on real world roads.
Of course, a virtual road requires virtual tires and a virtual vehicle, which engineers are creating at GM, said Mine Tasci, one of about 10 members on the development team.
"This helps us avoid a lot of late changes in the vehicle's development," Tasci said. "It definitely helps with identifying problems early on."
GM isn't the only one working on testing vehicle designs in virtual worlds, a method becoming more popular as automakers seek to speed up development cycles and be more efficient in troubleshooting problems before cars and trucks hit the asphalt, she said.
Buick engineers typically stick to the rockier roads for scanning because they're favorable for testing durability and bring out the "rattles and squeaks" in the vehicle, Tasci said.
The team has scanned roads at GM's Milford Proving Ground, which also copies real world driving conditions, but with pavement rather than pixels. It recently scanned a road leading to Mexico's Cerro del Cubilete, a "twisting, rocky path" winding its way to a religious shrine.
The Detroit automaker, however, doesn't have to look far for rough terrain. The city of Detroit is notorious for its potholed streets.
When asked whether she might consider taking the micro-detailed scanner over the Motor City's finest cracked pavement, Tasci replied: "That would be pretty nice." The scanning, though, is a slow and laborious process. Recording just a mile stretch of road could take a couple of months. "It would be a pretty major roadblock."
But, she agreed, the city streets would be a good candidate. "We could get a good 3-D model of the bumps and look at what kind of damage it does."
crogers@detnews.com
(313)-2222401
From The Detroit News: http://detroitnews.com/article/20101...#ixzz12fyopDig
10-17-2010, 08:27 PM
#2
Pro
Member Since: Jun 2008
Location: Philly region SCCA
Posts: 583
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's called iRacing.
Good job, GM. I don't think it took them months to do each mile of track though.
Good job, GM. I don't think it took them months to do each mile of track though.
The goal of the iRacing.com experience is simple: to make each lap driven in simulation as valid as a lap driven on the real-world race circuit.
To achieve this exceptionally high level of realism, iRacing.com uses its pioneering, proprietary application of three-dimensional laser-scanning technology to create two key features......
To achieve this exceptionally high level of realism, iRacing.com uses its pioneering, proprietary application of three-dimensional laser-scanning technology to create two key features......
