Ford has Designs on Microsoft’s Virtual Reality Tech

Ford Motor Co. says it will begin using Microsoft Corp.'s HoloLens augmented reality technology to develop unspecified future vehicles.

Microsoft’s HoloLens technology enables engineers and designers to view and change photo-quality hologram images projected onto actual cars or clay models and viewed through special headsets. Ford has been testing the system for about one year at its design studios in Dearborn, Mich.

Ford says the technology would allow designers to quickly evaluate different shapes, sizes and textures. The company estimates the technology could reduce decision-making times from weeks to hours.

The headsets, which can cost as much as $5,000 each, run on Microsoft’s Windows 10 software platform. Users can review and share full-size 3D designs with counterparts around the world in real time. As designers wearing headsets move around an actual vehicle, HoloLens scans and maps the environment to render holograms and images from the shifting angle of view.

Users also can record audio/visual notes related to a specific feature for other team members to access later. In the future, Ford hopes to use HoloLens technology for other engineering development processes. But the carmaker views the technology as a supplement to rather than replacement for traditional tools such as clay modeling and computer aided design programs.

Since Microsoft introduced HoloLens in 2016, the technology has been used for a variety of applications, ranging from teaching anatomy to simulating the surface of Mars. Volvo Car Corp. also is testing the augmented-reality glasses in dealerships in China and Europe to enable customers to view vehicles and options.