The automotive industry is currently undergoing a digital revolution, thanks to advancements in accelerated computing, AI, and the industrial metaverse. Automakers are now digitalizing every phase of the product lifecycle using the NVIDIA Omniverse platform and AI. This includes concept and styling, design and engineering, software and electronics, smart factories, autonomous driving, and retail. The Omniverse platform, based on the Universal Scene Description (USD) framework, simplifies complex 3D workflows, allowing teams to connect and customize 3D pipelines and create large-scale, physically accurate virtual worlds. This shift to the virtual world enables automakers to save time and reduce costs by bypassing traditional bottlenecks in the product workflow.
With Omniverse, designers can bring their ideas to life by visualizing every aspect of a car’s interior and exterior in the context of the entire vehicle. Global teams can collaborate seamlessly and efficiently from anywhere around the globe. By using their preferred 3D software applications, automakers can create physically accurate, photorealistic renderings that showcase how the vehicle will look inside and out. DRIVE Sim IX, built on Omniverse, allows designers to layout the cabin and cockpit onscreen and ensure a harmonious look and feel. This next-generation design process helps automakers catch flaws early, make real-time improvements, and reduce the number of physical prototypes needed for testing and validation.
Once the design phase is complete, developers can use Omniverse for virtual validation. They can test interior designs and refine them in the virtual world, optimizing customer experience and safety. Automakers can also test different materials and components virtually, reducing the need for physical prototyping. By integrating Omniverse, automotive engineers can access computational fluid dynamics data and visualize it alongside design data, enabling faster design reviews, cost savings, and better decisions regarding vehicle aerodynamics and energy efficiency.
The next generation of vehicles requires complex electronic systems and software. By centralizing computing into core domains, automakers can simplify the supply chain and enhance safety, intelligence, and security. With a digital representation of the vehicle’s architecture, automakers can simulate and test vehicle software, provide over-the-air updates, and continuously improve the vehicle’s capabilities throughout its lifespan.
Omniverse also plays a crucial role in digital-first production. Automakers can develop and operate AI-enabled virtual environments, or digital twins, for factory and warehouse design. These virtual replicas enable real-time collaboration, predictive analysis, and process automation, optimizing operations and reducing delays in vehicle production.
Additionally, Omniverse offers a complete toolchain for developing and validating automated and autonomous-driving systems. NVIDIA DRIVE Sim, built on Omniverse, provides an end-to-end simulation platform for accelerating autonomous-vehicle development. Developers can simulate routine driving scenarios, as well as rare and hazardous conditions, in a time-accurate, physically based environment. They can also fine-tune advanced driver-assistance and autonomous-vehicle systems for safety regulations.
Omniverse, in combination with NVIDIA AI, enhances the customer experience. Immersive technologies, such as 3D visualization, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR), allow customers to explore vehicle features before making a purchase. They can customize their vehicle using a car configurator, view it from every angle, and even test drive it virtually. NVIDIA AI also empowers companies like ProovStation in developing automated bays for vehicle inspection, improving accuracy, reducing costs, and increasing productivity.
NVIDIA AI and Omniverse revolutionize every aspect of the vehicle lifecycle, delivering creativity, efficiency, safety, and consumer satisfaction. This digitalization extends beyond the automotive industry, allowing any enterprise to reimagine workflows and transform business operations. Omniverse, as the digital-to-physical operating system, enables industrial digitalization.
In addition, automakers can utilize generative AI to create personalized and captivating advertising campaigns. By using NVIDIA’s AI technology in partnership with WPP, they can deliver visually impressive and immersive content that deeply resonates with consumers, enhancing brand awareness and boosting sales.
To learn more about the latest advancements in AI and the metaverse, watch NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s GTC keynote address.