Manufacturing Cars with Virtual Reality

Manufacturing Cars with Virtual Reality Manufacturing Cars with Virtual Reality Manufacturing Cars with Virtual RealityOculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear, Sony Playstation VR, Google Daydream View. What are the first two words you think of when you see those funky-looking headsets? First, virtual reality. Second, gaming.What was science fiction once is now a reality not only in gaming, but also in automotive manufacturing. Car manufacturers, such as General Motors and Ford, are increasingly using VR to test design plans, tolerances, and safety features in virtual environments to ensure their products are evaluated at a very early phase of the process, thereby reducing the time and costs.VR has enabled us to shorten the vehicle development process in many ways, says Joe Guzman, engineering group manager, Vehicle Assembly Structure and Virtual Reality Center at General Motors. It offers the ability to very early in the development process make decisions in an accurately represented ma nner in a life-like representation of the vehicle that in many years past would have required a physical property, he says.Gone are the days of clay, wood, or metal models. VR enables the designers and engineers to view the products in 11 ratio in a real setting. It can actually turn around realistic models onto one scale within a day where as if you were to build a physical prototype it would probably take up to a few weeks or months, says Joe Alef, a senior global visualization specialist at GM.The use of virtual technologies allows designers and engineers to see, assess, and modify a considerable number of variants. Image General MotorsInside the CAVEThe use of virtual technologies allows designers and engineers to see, assess, and modify a considerable number of variants. The virtual data is displayed on a monitor, a large projection screen, or Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) an immersive virtual reality environment where projectors are directed to multiple walls of a room-sized cube.The CAVE provides an environment where designers and engineers wear 3D glasses and become completely immersed in the computer-generated graphics of the exterior and interior of a vehicle. They can then evaluate mirrors, placement of controls, and design quality, such as gaps, fits, and finishes.The CAVE solution was developed by the University of Indiana in the late 1970s so it is not new, says Guzman, who has been using the technology since it was first installed at GM in the year 2000. It has, however, undergone a major upgrade in the last three years. GEs technical center in Michigan, Detroit, has two CAVEs and two more are under construction in Europe and China.What we have here is a four-walled CAVE, smaller than the design center. Theirs is eight feet and ours is a six-foot CAVE, explains Guzman. The design center utilizes the cave for aesthetic purposes while we do for engineering and manufacturing purposes, he explains.We have done a lot of global dimensioni ng and tolerance studies, visibility studies from the drivers perspective to detect any object variation between the wind shield and mirrors, reflection studies from inside rear-view mirrors and outside studies, says Alef.The CAVE provides an environment where engineers become virtually immersed. Image General MotorsIntegrating with planEvery program, vehicle, and platform utilizes VR at GM. According to Guzman, VR is being used by different groups on different days for decisions being made in the physical development process from the initiation of a program to a prototype. Its a validation of what they are seeing in the physical world translated correctly from what they had done in math on a computer model, he says.Safety is another parameter being evaluated using VR. We have taken CAE crash simulation data one of our demo math data for a vehicle that went into production last year. We took the crash data put it into 3D rendering using 3DExcite DeltaGen software. As you are develop ing these parts early on in the development process, you can optimize them for weight strength and how they react under crash conditions. Thats how we are making the vehicles safe, says Guzman.GM is not alone in the use of VR. Other automakers are using it for design, engineering, and manufacturing purposes. Ford, for example, also has a lab outfitted with VR technology to raise manufacturing quality.So what is its future outlook? Guzman believes the entire virtual world will become fully integrated into the design process, fostering increased collaboration between designers and engineers. The VR tools will have a place in a meeting room to collaborate much the same as it used to be when engineers and designers would meet around the car down at the shop. They are going to collaborate around these VR properties and it will be more integrated into the fabric of the design process. Every decision will be based on this. For Further Discussion The entire virtual world will become fully i ntegrated into the design process fostering increased collaboration between designers and engineers. Joe Guzman, engineering group manager, General Motors

Stop Job Loss from Stealing Your Confidence and Your Identity

Stop Job Loss from Stealing Your Confidence and Your IdentityStop Job Loss from Stealing Your Confidence and Your IdentityClinical psychologists and therapists provide insights on how elend to lose your identity when you lose your job.One big challenge a professional faces when hes lost his job is that hes also lost a big piece of his identity.Being out of work is a terrible feeling, said Elizabeth Friedman, PhD, a clinical psychologist in New York. We identify at least part of our self with what we do. Hopefully its not all of our self-definition, but it is a big part of it. So we lose our grounding, our footing, in certain ways. Who am I? Where am I going? What do I do tomorrow morning at 800? Do I get up? Do I stay in bed? Staying in bed is not the right answer, experts agree. In fact, sticking to a praxis and applying control when and where you can is key.Take one day to feel terrible, and then get moving, Friedman said. Its very important to keep basic routines. You cant suddenl y be up all night long watching Law and Order. Get up in the morning take a shower. If youre a guy, shave if youre a woman, do your hair. Send out a million e-mails, contact all of your friends.A sense of identity loss can affect a persons relationships and family dynamics, as well.When youve lost a job, you start to question your own identity, said Kevin Skinner, who has a Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy and shares expert advice at MyExpertSolution.com. Sometimes if its an extended job loss, you begin to feel guilty, especially if its affecting your family, and maybe your wife has to go back to work. You start to feel like, Whats wrong with me? And its not about that.What it is about, said Skinner, is reaching out to others and focusing on realistic solutions.The best thing we can do in these times is get additional support, he said. You might have to turn to family for support. You might have to go live somewhere else - downgrade your home, downgrade your cars. The resilient people are going to say, Im going to find a solution - Im a person who finds solutions to problems.

Heres How To Negotiate Flexible Work Hours

Heres How To Negotiate Flexible Work HoursHeres How To Negotiate Flexible Work Hours These days, it almost seems, as having a flexible work schedule is common practice at most workplaces. The traditional nine-to-five, Monday-through-Friday schedule does not work for everyone anymora, and some companies accommodate for those who work better with a mora flexible schedule, such as one where you can work from home . For example, telecommutersthose who work from home have increased by 115% in the last decade, according to a new study . If other workers are able to have a flexible schedule or work from home , maybe you can do Whether your company offers the option to work from home or not, it never hurts to ask your boss for a more flexible schedule. But, before you do so, its best to go into a conversation like this prepared. Heres what to do.1. Read through your contract or the employee handbookWhen you were hired, you were likely given an employee handbook filled with the ins and outs of the companys rules. You might not have read through everything when you got the job, but if youre hoping to change up your work schedule, the first thing you should do is check the handbook, or your contract, and see if it says anything about flexible schedules or work from home options.Plus, doing so ahead of time and bringing it up later in your conversation with your boss shows that youve done your homeworkWhether your company policy says anything about flexible time or not, you should prepare a plan for the flexible schedule if you want to increase your chances of getting it approved. First, consider how you can balance your work and life and what schedule would make the most sense, both for you and your employer. Are there certain days of the week where you do physically need to be in your office for meetings or to do something for your job? What parts of your job could be done remotely? Do you have an office set up in your home or a specific plac e where you would be working so your employer would know where you are located when youd be working? The more you take the time to compartmentalize all of your work tasks, the better you can set up which days of the week you can get those tasks done, and which days you could be in the office or work from home. If you can show your boss that you have a set plan in place for what your schedule will look like, itll be easier for them to see your schedule from your perspective.3. Lay out the benefits for your employerNext, make a list of the ways in which your employer could benefit from you working from home or having a more flexible schedule. You dont want to make it seem that you are just trying to get a flexible schedule for your benefit you have to show your company how this will be good for them too.Perhaps you will be able to work the two hours you now spend commuting, suggests Human Resources expert Susan Heathfield. Less stress will make you a better employee. Knowing that y ou can drop the children at daycare and pick them up will make you less concerned about their welfare.The next step is to negotiate with your coach. If you are a valuable and trusted employee (meaning youre timely, hard-working and generally a team player) you should not have an issue discussing a flexible schedule with your supervisor. Your track record on your other projects and overall work ethic should be a good indication that you will be able to pull this off.You have a plan, youve thought through the benefits both for you and your employer, so now its time to sell your supervisor on the idea But, dont get your hopes up too high and dont feel discourage if they dont say yes or give a direct answer.According to Karen Dillion , co-author of How Will You Measure Your Life?, you should not expect an answer right away. Dont push for a yes or no right away, she says. Your manager needs time to think about the implications, or maybe get approval from HR. Give them the time and spa ce to do that. If you dont hear back from your boss, a good way to bring up the conversation again is to ask if you can try working a flexible schedule for a week so you and your supervisor can see how it could work. This could be a great opportunity for your supervisor to see how motivated you are to make the schedule workand how much it would mean to you for your work-life balance to be a little better.Even if your supervisor says no for now, dont take it as a total loss You can still convince them later on. If they say no, maybe they arent totally sold on the idea that you could get the work done remotely so before you ask again, spend time working on how you can show your boss how you can still maintain your strong work ethic even if youre not in the office as much. Goodluck