Volvo has announced a collaboration with Fortnite developer Epic Games to use theUnreal Engine 5 game engine to create the next generation of electric vehicles. Volvo Cars will use the tool to develop digital interfaces inside their vehicles and visualize graphics in real time.
Volvo Cars will be the first European automaker to use Unreal Engine for Human Machine Interface (HMI) development. Prior to this, Epic Games provided its engine for the 2022 Hummer EV electric pickup truck.
“In order to offer our customers the best possible user experience and promote safe and personal driving, we need rich, immersive and responsive visuals inside our vehicles. Running the Unreal Engine in our vehicles allows us to achieve this and make the time inside the Volvo even more enjoyable.”
Henrik Green, Product Director, Volvo Cars
Initially, the collaboration will focus on the Driver Information Module, one of the displays in the cabin that provides essential information and infotainment features. The next generation of Volvo cars will see new high quality graphics on these displays.
Sharper visuals, richer colors and all-new 3D animations are just the first steps as Volvo Cars developers continue to improve graphics, the company says. As a result, the next-generation Volvo Cars infotainment system will be twice as fast as its predecessor, and graphics generation and processing in the cabin will be ten times faster.
“When you bring high-definition, real-time interactive graphics to your car, you open the door to a myriad of new ways to inform and entertain everyone inside.”
Heiko Wenzel, Epic Games Director of Automotive Systems and HMI for Unreal Engine
The first car to feature the new graphics will be the new all-electric flagship that Volvo Cars will unveil later this year. This model will be the first of a new generation of Volvo electric cars as the company aims to sell only electric cars from 2030. Volvo Cars has set itself the goal of developing half of all software for its vehicles in-house by mid-decade, and is actively recruiting for software development.
Source: The Verge
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