“This technology provides us the capacity to build responsive, really high-quality images that we can play with and layer in information, make realistic representations when needed, and all of that,” said Thomas Stovicek, Volvo Cars’ head of user experience. “So it truly comes down to developing the next generation of HMI for our customers.”
Safety will be a core aspect of the new partnership, Stovicek said. Over the years, the company built its reputation on safety and quirky designs, and today’s announcement is meant to underline that. Ideally, Volvo wants to use the Unreal Engine to render what the vehicle’s external sensors, like camera, radar, and soon, lidar, are seeing outside the car to drivers without being “overwhelming,” he said, adding, “It can be hard to process.”
Other bits of information, like navigation and battery life as well as the presentation of that information, like light, color, and motion graphics, will be improved thanks to the collaboration with Epic Gamers, Stovicek said.
Epic’s principal tool for creating realistic 3D graphics is the Unreal Engine, which was first demonstrated in the 1998 first-person shooter Unreal. It has since been employed in a variety of game genres and has been adopted by other sectors, most notably the film and television industries.
