What if we told you that a computer simulated car, driven on a computer simulated road contributes to something very real? That’s exactly what General Motors is doing.
A team of General Motors engineers have created a 3D Scanner that captures the bumps and grooves of a road’s surface to replicate them onto a computer. Along with virtual roads, engineers are busy at work on creating vehicles and even tires to be used in the simulation.
Mine Tasci, one of about 10 members on the team working on the virtual road explained that this method helps cut down on the time of development cycles and can even fix problems before vehicles begin to test on real roads. Tasci said engineers focus on the rough roads because they’re good for testing durability and finding things such as vibrations and squeaks.
Right now, the team of engineers has scanned the Milford proving grounds and the road leading to Mexico’s Cerro del Cubilete, a religious shrine. The scanning is so accurate, that it can sculpt a virtual replica of a road surface all the way down to 3mm of fidelity. However, the scanner isn’t perfect- it is a slow and laborious process. Recording just a mile stretch of road could take a couple of months.
Still, the technology itself is pretty impressive. It leaves us wondering, though. Just what other sorts of cutting-edge technology resides within the walls of The General’s facilities?
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