| | JUNE 20218CIOReviewAbsolutely real: Virtual and augmented reality open new avenues in the BMW Group Production System· Fast and flexible planning of new workstations in production, thanks to virtual reality and digitised 3D factory data· Learning success and supervision quality with augmented reality technologies as high as in one-on-one sessions· Authoring tool developed by the BMW Group makes it possible to design training courses without any coding knowledge· Target/actual comparison between camera image and CAD models for fast, straightforward quality checks of parts and vehiclesMunich. The BMW Group Production focuses increasingly on trendsetting, easy-to-use, and effective virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality applications. VR images, or artificially created images, are ever more realistic and hard to distinguish from real pictures. In AR applications, illustrations complement real images. AR and VR images can be viewed in special headsets or on normal tablet computers. In production, these images are powerful tools in numerous use cases­in training and qualification, planning of workstations at the assembly line, or quality control. In all applications, the technology keeps modestly in the background. No extensive IT expertise is required to use these applications efficiently.Workstation PlanningThanks to VR, planners in construction, plant engineering, logistics, and assembly can now assess new production areas completely virtually together with production staff and test new processes in 3D. This type of planning is based on digitised factory data available in 3D. For several years now, the BMW Group has been digitally capturing its actual plant structures with special 3D scanners and high-resolution cameras to an accuracy of just a few millimetres. This provides a three-dimensional image or scatter plot of production areas, and does away with the complex, digital reconstruction of structures, and manual on-site recording. When planning future workstations or entire assembly halls, the BMW Group's business units now combine existing data with a virtual library of shelves, mesh boxes, small load carriers, and around 50 other particularly common operating resources.A few months before production of the new BMW 3 Series ramped up in Munich, BMW Group planners have completely laid out individual workstations in a virtual world. This includes cockpit preassembly, for example, where the cockpit is put together before being installed in the vehicle. For the first time, building, systems, logistics and assembly planners, together with production employees, were able to assess the whole of the new production area in virtual reality and test new procedures in 3D. Virtual reality technology has enabled planners to set up cockpit preassembly workstations quickly and efficiently. T i m e - co n su m i n g trial installations that replicate the workstation in its actual dimensions AR/VR Open New Doors for BMW GroupMarkus GrüneislIN MY OPINIONBy Markus Grüneisl, Head of Production System and Operational Excellence at BMW Group [FWB: BMW]
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