Sure, the engine ran smooth, the tires rolled true, but most impressive were the fact that the light on my car could pierce intense fog, wildfire smoke and even track the road as I hugged hairpin turns descending through the Rockies.
Sometime during one of these descents, I started to wonder, how do these technologies get built? How are proven to work? Taking a car out on an open road with an experimental head light set up is too risky for those driving, and anyone else on the road, so some virtual system must be in place to simulate innovative head light schemes.
Turns out, there are simulators that aid automotive designers when it comes to head light development. One of them is OPTIS’ SPEOS, which was recently updated.
According to OPTIS, SPEOS 2018 incarnation, eliminates “the need for physical prototypes to test their products, reducing the waste of materials and speeding time-to-market”. To back up this claim SPEOS 2018’s designers given the package new true to life materials and textures that make simulations more realistic, integrated digital micromirror device technologies that are becoming more popular with automotive engineers, and allowed for the accurate metering of how a HUD will be seen by a driver in any conditions.
Additionally, SPEOS 2018 also comes complete with deep CAD and VR integration so that engineers can leverage the tools that they’re familiar with while also having the option for learning how virtual environments can improve design reviews.
Though I’ve only mentioned head light design so far, SPEOS 2018 also boast the ability to render other automotive elements like interior designs, exterior designs and more. In fact, OPTIS labels its SPEOS engine and “Light and Human Vision Simulation” meaning that anything you can perceive it can attempt to replicate in realistic, digital form. That’s got to make designing a car more efficient. Although, I’d hate to see those awesome scale replica clay models go by the wayside.
SPEOS 2018 is currently available , to learn more visit OPTIS.