Audi 2014 Annual Report Download - page 34

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When physical and virtual reality merge : Assembly steps are simulated
in advance in 3D on the virtual reality wall and then optimized step by step.
This technology is also used in toolmaking.
Engineer Katharina Kunz is standing in
front of a white door. Behind it : the
world of production. The Audi engineer
makes a wiping motion with her hand.
The door slides open with a hiss. An Audi
A body glides by on a self-guided plat-
form that is making a beeline to an em-
ployee. Next to him : a small robot. It
assists with the installation of the gear-
shift knob. This is customized to the
anatomy of the customer’s hand and was
just now produced using a D printer.
Assembly line ? Not here. Whereas the
pulse of production is normally deter-
mined by the line and cycle times, under
the workshop principle all models are
built in a single hall. Tools and materials
use sensors and chips to supply a con-
stant stream of data. They are largely
self-organizing. If the data indicate
an anomaly, an alert is displayed on the
Smart Interface. The employee then de-
cides how the problem can be rectifi ed.
Man and machine work hand in hand.
Katharina Kunz swipes the screen in
front of her. The Smart Interface disap-
pears, and with it the virtual world.
Change of perspective : back to the pres-
ent. This production method is still
just a vision of the future. But it is no
longer all that far o ; many innova-
tions are already in use at Audi today
and mark the way to Industry .
(see page ).
Ingolstadt, Audi plant, Hall T. This
is where Dr.-Ing. Hubert Waltl, AUDI AG
Board Member for Production, and
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reimund Neugebauer,
President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft,
meet up. The two share a passion for
innovation. They are driven by progress.
In May , they jointly inaugurated
the E research factory in Chemnitz :
a model factory for intelligent produc-
tion for researching the technologies
of tomorrow.
Before the fi rst prototypes are built,
the series production process for the car
is checked for feasibility using virtual
means in the Audi CAVE. “Based on the
design data, we can model the indi-
vidual components in three dimensions.
We then simulate assembly and as a
team analyze whether instal lation can be
easily accomplished both with respect to
the component and also the employee,”
explains Katharina Kunz. Looking through
her D glasses, she sees the components
on two large projection surfaces. Wear-
ing a bracelet that measures the fl ow of
electricity through her muscles, she can
touch and move the parts using gestures.
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035WE CREATE PROGRESS
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