Virtual Production Studio Lab inaugurated
- Post by: Tobias Larsson
- 17th October 2024
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For the past 2 years the Virtual Production Studio Lab project have been running with the ambition of taking the Model Driven Decision Arena research prototype into next level visualisation and simulation arena with a true dual use perepective to not only be a lab for enigneering research but also be a solution space for gaming, andcreative industries like film etc.
Through a prototyping experience process that have included tech/process testing the project arrived at tech solution spring 2024 and procured tech during summer, while securing the Blå Hallen facility for installation start September 9.
5 weeks later we have the 8th Carl Film Forum that is the first public event for VPSL and this is also the release of the physical space name, that will be Karlskrona Blue Port Studios. VPSL is the BTH tech in the studio, while the intention with Blue Port Studios is to allow for commercial activities using the tech. Project leader Professor Tobias Larsson and Karlskrona Kommun Film Commissioner Henrik JP Åkesson Ruben had brought in BTH Vice Chancellor Henric Johnson to inaugurate Karlskrona Blue Port Studios together with Karlskrona Kommun Chairman of the Board Emma Swahn-Nilsson, and Regional Councillor of Finance Sophia Ahlin.
During the Carl Film Forum that was focused on VP and film BTH showcased their use of the VPSL environment and the use in research and education, in parallel with participation in the CFF agenda.
Many thanks to our partners Karlskrona Kommun, Region Blekinge, Istudios Visuals and Volvo Construction Equipment.
Participation items in the CFF agenda:
- Virtual Production Studio Lab: Bridging R&D and Film Production
- Henrik Svilling, Tobias Larsson and Andrea Nordwall.
Building and Validating Competence in the Film Industry
- Lisa Boldt-Christmas, Andrea Nordwall and Charlotte Gimfalk
Demo presentations
Below are the demos that were part of the CFF agenda and the BTH/Volvo crew around it.
Demo 1: Immersive Virtual Prototyping in Physics Validated Environments
- Ryan Ruvald, Postdoc Researcher, BTH.
- Albin Nilsson, Control System Engineer, Volvo Construction Equipment.
Volvo Construction Equipment and BTH have developed a simulation platform using Unreal Engine to create a real-time virtual environment for exploring, testing and visualizing new machine prototypes. The platform replaces the standard physics engine with a custom one capable of simulating tires, hydraulics, rigid bodies, and materials. This enables efficient testing of prototypes before physical construction and can also be used for operator training on conventional machinery. Known existing machines, such as wheeled loaders, are tested to validate the virtual models, ensuring that the simulated physics and operational outputs align with real-world performance. This validation process provides confidence that new concepts, when tested virtually, will closely match their potential real-world counterparts. The platform allows for rapid testing, running hundreds or even thousands of simulations, compared to the limited number of physical prototypes that can be built annually. This capability accelerates development, reduces costs, and helps identify and solve potential issues early in the design process through extensive virtual prototyping.
“The Virtual Production Studio Lab is a crucial piece of infrastructure, utilizing large immersive screens and advanced rendering, tracking, AI, and machine learning capabilities to create an interactive simulation environment for approaching complex, ‘wicked-problem’ scenarios. This allows the requisite diverse decision-maker groups to create, visualize and absorb critical data at the most pivotal moments in the design process.” /Ryan Ruvald
The VCE demo is connected to Future Fossil Free Rock Loading Solution | 2022-2025, AXESS – Assessment in XR Environments for Sustainable Solutions | 2024-2027 and COLLIDE-XR Project Secures Funding for Cross-Atlantic Collaboration projects
Demo 2: Combating Floods – Evacuation of Karlskrona and Ronneby
- Carl Toller Melén, PhD candidate, Product Development Research Lab, BTH.
The video, which is part of the RESIST project (https://resist-project.eu), demonstrates how to simulate and optimize the evacuation of 10,000 cars from the cities of Karlskrona and Ronneby to the north of Blekinge (Växjö). The first part of the video compares two evacuation simulations and their total times. One simulation shows the evacuation process without planning or strategy, while the other demonstrates an optimized approach to minimize car travel times. The second part of the video provides a global and local view of the optimized scenario, allowing for a better perspective and detailed analysis. The simulations are designed for the Virtual Production Studio Lab, enabling stakeholders to simultaneously evaluate multiple scenarios and perspectives. Additionally, the simulations can be enhanced with additional data, such as time graphs or KPI tables, to provide users with more comprehensive information.
“The Virtual Production Studio Lab allows us to maintain both a overall view of an evacuation event and zooming in at critical nodes as the same times. Having this dual perspective allows us as team to get a more comprehensive assessment of the scenario.” /Carl Toller Melén
Demo 3: Optimizing Off-Road Transport: A Look at the Future
Raj Machchhar, PhD candidate, Product Development Research Lab, BTH.
This video highlights advancements in optimizing and managing off-road transportation like mining operations. It is one of the outcomes of several project, such as TRUST-SOS (https://www.vinnova.se/p/trust-sos/) and Framtidens Fossilfria Bergutlastning (https://www.vinnova.se/p/framtidens-fossilfria-bergutlastning/), in collaboration with Volvo Constriction Equipment and funded by VINNOVA. The video showcases the power of combining optimization tools with enhanced visualization for a deeper understanding of operational scenarios. You’ll see how switching between third-person and first-person viewpoints allows stakeholders to focus on specific areas of interest. Additionally, data overlays, like scenario parameters and KPIs, provide a comprehensive picture of the situation. This approach, designed for the Virtual Production Studio Lab, allows stakeholders to evaluate multiple scenarios and perspectives simultaneously. Ultimately, it supports them to make informed decisions for more efficient and sustainable off-road transportation.
“Virtual Production Studio Lab (VPSL) is revolutionizing the way we learn about and interact with simulations. In the context of off-road transportation, VPSL offers a safe and controlled environment to test new machines, technologies, and strategies. By immersing all the stakeholders in such virtual environments, it creates a platform for shared insights, eventually supporting inform decision-making” /Raj Jiten Machchhar
Demo 4: The virtual simulation approach for automotive examples
- Yan Zhang, Industrial PhD candidate, Product Development Research Lab, BTH.
SimuloCITY, a virtual simulation platform enables Smart Energy Service development for NIO car
The first video content is based on the SimuloCITY- a virtual scenario development platform, (www.bigsimulo.com) which has been transformed from Virtual Production Studio Lab (VPSL)’s academic research into an industrial application project since 2022. The video shows the virtual solution targets the pain points of the current Electric Vehicle manufacturing industry, such as the long development cycle of smart products and services, high-cost investment, and difficulty in evaluating commercial value and decision-making. The solution provides global car brands – NIO (www.nio.com) with efficient development and value-visualized product development innovation through Virtual Simulation through the cutting-edge Digital Twin + Mega Virtual Simulation screen + Ai technology integration in the early product planning and R&D process.
The virtual Simulation approach supports the designing of Smart Electric Bus and Prototyping
The second video shows the application of Virtual Simulation technology in smart Product-Service System (sPSS) design, proposing a Super-System Digital Twin (SSDT) framework on an Electric bus development for meeting the long journey of unique tourist scenario in Tibet’s environment. (www.sustainable-bus.com/electric-bus/merry-combo-electric-coach-king-long/.) The virtual simulation integrates data from service offerings, user scenarios, and product features throughout the design process. The showcase is applied to the conceptual design of a Smart Electric Tourist Bus in collaboration with bus manufacturer and tourist service provider, the Virtual simulation utilizes an immersive mega screen, and decision environment to enhance decision-making and prototyping during the service solution development. The video validates Virtual simulation’s role in fostering participatory design and collaborative innovation while addressing its great value and proposing future implementation with more industries.
“The Virtual Production Studio is the best simulation environment and decision-making place I have ever seen. It can meet the facilities and knowledge base required by cutting-edge academic research and the leading manufacturing industry to challenge future innovation. The circular large screen can show the real-time simulation of vehicles in a large-scale urban environment, and present future scenarios and extremely realistic activities that are difficult to create in reality to the greatest extent possible. It provides an advanced innovation foundation for the development of Manufacturing 4.0 for global industry.” /Yan Zhang
Demo 5: Rapid Environment Creation for Virtual Production
Andrea Nordwall, PhD candidate, Product Development Research Lab, BTH.
The video shows procedural and generative approaches to accelerating the production of 3D environments for virtual production, such as virtual film production, as well as simulation and visualization applications. Production of 3D environments with a high level of detail can be costly and time-consuming, especially for environments with high demands on realism and large-scale environments. Procedural generation of content using asset libraries can help create complex environments and be paired with procedural landscape generation and satellite and aerial height data import. Generative assets can populate scenes, such as 2D cards in low parallax scene areas, generative meshes based on outputs from multi-view diffusion models, 360° panoramic generation, and generative materials. Another approach is to reconstruct environments through photogrammetry or radiance fields based on photographic reference images or output from diffusion transformer generative video models.
“Interactive large-scale screen environments with high-fidelity real-time rendering capabilities, such as VPSL, represent a new modality on the XR spectrum where the users are not wearing but are surrounded by a simulated environment, enabling new perspectives and new forms of interaction.” /Andrea Nordwall
Research profile
BTH and Product Development Research Lab will now during the later part of the autumn develop a KKS research profile (120 MSEK application) together with industry to adress upcoming challenges in the ADD-VERSE application; Accelerating digitalisation for decision making in Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous environments.
Research questions to start with are according to below.
Responsible for the KKS profile application is Professor Marco Bertoni, and Professor Tobias Larsson is supporting the development. Read here for more info!