Ergonomic driven design in augmented reality

Virtual Reality (VR) technology in industrial engineering has the potential to accelerate the design process, reducing time to market and faultiness of the products. The combination of direct 3D-interaction, 3D-visualization, 3D-devices and applications makes VR the ideal technique for 3D-modeling tasks, both in conceptual design and in the detailed design phase. The coordinated efforts of the Universities of Naples and Darmstadt brought to the design of a virtual environment that allows both designers and engineers to evaluate different design solutions for interiors of vehicles. The research goal was the virtual validation of the design project starting from the first phases of the development of a new car and without building physical prototypes. More specifically this paper will demonstrate how VR techniques enhance the definition of ergonomic constraints for dashboard design. In particular Ergodesign allows the design team to take into account human factors since the first stage of automotive design.