Augmented Reality-Based Rapid Digital Verification of the Body-in-white for Intelligent Manufacturing

Abstract

The body-in-white (BIW) is the structural assembly of the automobile after it is welded, which is the skeleton of the automobile. BIW design verification is an important part of the automobile development, not only to test the structural performance, but also to verify its manufacturability in subsequent production lines. Augmented reality, as an important tool for rapid digital verification, has been widely used in intelligent manufacturing systems. This paper presents an augmented reality-based method and associated system for rapid digital verification of BIW manufacturability during the BIW design phase. The system approach is described: 1) AR based auto BIW verification environment construction, 2) Bare hand interaction assisted AR verification, 3) Distance measurement and collision detection. Finally, an experimental scenario was built to illustrate how this AR system assist in verifying BIW structures on a production line and reveal the huge potential of AR in product design verification.