Virtual reality suite

Tracker system

Who

Virtual reality company Virtalis has installed an immersive visualisation suite at CNH's facility in Zedelgem, Belgium, which will be used to help the agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer to develop new cabs and carry out styling reviews for its products.

Technology

The Virtalis ActiveWall HD configuration comprises a 25ft by 14ft PowerWall which has been slightly sunken into the floor so that the combine harvesters and balers can drive out of the wall in full stereoscopic 3D. Virtalis implemented a tailored tracker system, so that natural movement around the virtual models is maximised with the use of head-mounted displays. The systems at CNH feature a 64-bit, quad-core workstation coupled with an NVIDIA FX5600 graphics card.

Application

CNH uses its virtual reality systems to conduct collaborative design reviews focusing on the development of forage harvesters, large hay-balers and European combines. “With the ability to adjust everything on screen, we have quickly become less forgiving of rework and have already had great success with our safety reviews for our new combines,” says Jeroen De Neve, simulation engineer at CNH, Belgium. 

The CNH team has also used its ActiveWall to develop new cabs and to carry out styling reviews for the products designed in Zedelgem. Each new programme hosts a couple of day-long focus groups where the interior and exterior styling, initial impressions and control positions and visibility are all monitored.