Why Car Brand Should Invest In Computational Design Using VR, AI And Videogames – Forbes

Arturo Tedeschi is an Italian architect who specializes in computational design. Over the last ten years his Milan studio A>T has been working alongside some of the biggest names in design – Adidas, Zaha Hadid Architects, Ross Lovegrove, Volkswagen. Among his passions are cars, specifically the process involved in vehicle design. This is how Iris came to be – a concept car to show how computational design can advance the process of creation, help form exciting shapes, complex geometries, advanced sculptural forms that would simply not have been possible through conventional design methods.

Developed by Tedeschi and designer Maurizio Degni using MindeskVR, Iris has two seats and is electrically powered. The shape shows the ease of transitions from smooth to edgy – “a balance between innovative details and pragmatic solutions,” offers Tedeschi. Essentially though, the project explores the design journey – from the first hand-drawn sketch to virtual reality; from algorithmic modeling to real-time rendering with the engine incorporated in the video game creation. The Iris workflow allows designers to visualize the output of the algorithmic modeling with realistic materials and light simulation, thus speeding up the design process.

Having presented the Iris concept to Volkswagen as part of “Future Technology for Car Design” in April, I spoke with Tedeschi to see the possibilities and limitations of computational design – and to find out how is actually works.

Nargess Banks: There are clear advantages to computational design: the speed of realizing an idea, and the flexibility with transforming shapes. Then there is the ability to experience the product in virtual reality. Can you explain the process?

Arturo Tedeschi: One of the constants of designers’ work is a certain level of “abstraction” – designers don’t make objects, but drawings and models of objects. In the past, such a process would have implied critical simplifications and bidimensional reductions in order to translate ideas into blueprints – processes that take away the designer from a unitary and integrated vision. Computational design is about creating relationships and link objects and data. Our brains work similarly.

NS: Let’s work through an example, say the design of a car wheel.

AT: This would have been conceived in a linear process – from sketches, passing through accurate but time-consuming surface modeling to traditional prototyping. From a computational design perspective, a wheel can be defined as a set of associative dimensions and geometric rules, maybe driven by external data and quickly modifiable by the user. Aesthetic details can be achieved by the use of animations or simulations and, finally, the vehicle can be explored and evaluated in a VR environment with the possibility to change dimensions and details in real time, directly in the VR realm. The final output is not just a digital 3D model but can be considered as data for prototyping and manufacturing.         

NB: Does the process benefit the designer, the human creator?

AT: Our minds are powerful, our hands are limited, even if boosted by computer aided design. Computational design – based on the use of algorithms – allows designers to overcome the limitations of the traditional mouse-clicking approach, reaching a level of control and complexity that is beyond the human’s “manual” ability. Along with this, VR and artificial intelligence greatly expand the possibility to explore new trajectories and quickly choose among thousands of consistent alternatives or variations.  

NB: Does this process have limitations in that the precise nature of this methodology takes away from the idea of creation by chance, the serendipitous side of design?

AT: If you don’t control it, it controls you, with the risk of an inconsistent or trivial use of powerful tools. With control though, the methodology puts the act of creation at the center, delegating to the computer the complex and mechanical tasks. In a traditional workflow we can see how unbalanced and one-way the ratio between time spent on the concept and time spent on the technical development is. However, within a computational design framework, the designer is totally focused on the invention so they can benefit from a palette of innovative tools.

NB: Referring back to the wheel example…

AT: In this scenario the designer has the freedom to apply parametric deformers, real-time physical simulation and so on. They can quickly explore different morphologies from an aesthetic or functional point of view, without taking care of how surfaces are mathematically connected together, because the computer does it.

NB: You created Iris as an example of how the process of computational design can help form complex geometries and forms. Can you explain how you visualized it?

AT: We used design tools like DJs use instruments and samplers. It is the output of a crossover approach merging algorithmic design, AI and video games. In particular, the integration in our pipeline of the VR environment by MindeskVR with a video game engine from Unreal which gave us an immersive experience to evaluate the car’s final look. This included real-life materials, light behavior and reflections.

NB: How long did the process take and how feasible is such a working method?

AT: The entire process was developed in just five working days at our studio in Milan, with hardware and software that is accessible in terms of costs and availability. Such an approach dramatically shortens the path from the rough idea to a hyper realistic visualization. We were able to explore novel and intuitive interactions and geometric creation. For instance, the light shading system was created by moving the VR hand-controllers like a magic wand.

NB: And what stands out for you in the design?

AT: I would say that light is the main “material” we used for Iris – as it is the expression of something tangible but immaterial, closer to the idea of non-finished, fluid and mutable. The digital roof can be set to create a responsive shading pattern, adaptable to light condition or to display data and information in a dynamic way. For us the car body is not a combination of surfaces, but a set of interfaces.

NB: How would you describe a computational designer?

AT: Using the music analogy: if designers are the artists, computational designers can be imagined as music producers. We may not have our own voice, but we own a personal touch which is enriched by different collaborations and enriches the artists’ work as well. Our profession is often confused with engineering or project developments, but as in music production, technical skills are a necessary, but not sufficient condition. Computational designers then usually have an experimenter’s DNA but develop the design culture over the years.    

NB: You have worked with an exciting range of designers, industrial designer Ross Lovegrove, architect Zaha Hadid – both whom are and were deeply connected to advancing design through technology. Can you explain what each discipline has taught you?

AT: It has taught me the sense of scale and the courage to infuse the visionary strength of architecture into industrial object or to expand the precision and seamless perfection of products up to the building scale. From (industrial designer) Ross Lovegrove – whom I consider a mentor – I learned that every object we design can stimulate a change in people’s mindset with an influence on our perception of reality.   

NB: How does design benefit from this multidisciplinary approach?

AT: It helps to think outside the box, to have an integrated approach and that is crucial as we are quickly moving towards a world where disciplines will be more and more interconnected. And I’m not just talking about merging different technologies and software. We will be forced to think in a systemic way, and nature will have a central role. As an example, vehicles will be deeply linked to architecture in the future. The way we design buildings and cities will be dramatically influenced by new transportation systems based on AI. Data will be the new fuel of an interconnected platform balancing urban environment and nature. 

NB: We are clearly navigating through complex times with the global pandemic adding many extra questions onto what was already a defining moment for vehicle design and its sustainable and autonomous future. What are your thoughts?

AT: To quote (the influential English architect) Cedric Price: “Technology is the answer, but what was the question?”. We are living an exciting moment as car companies are re-thinking the idea of technology and its use as a driver for the most important shift in the history of transportation. The new challenges will force companies to think broader. New urgent questions are emerging and they are becoming a central part of the decisional process. Questions such as what will be the impact and role of shared mobility? How AI and self-driving systems will change the idea of private transportation and how they will reshape the car layout? How to reconsider the vehicle lifecycle? What will be the consequences of this pandemic’s social distancing for public transportation?

NB: And your thoughts on the future?

AT: We are currently in a transitory stage, moving from the mechanical nature of cars towards the idea of vehicles as “interfaces”. By definition an interface is something that separates and connects with cars becoming interfaces between the starting point and destination, inside and outside, visible and hidden, private and public, city and nature. The main characteristic of interfaces is simplicity. We already see the signals of this paradigm shift.

Read how the Volkswagen Group is taking VW, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Skoda and Seat to the electric transport age here; take a look at how a specialist engineering firm is advancing the future of electric cars; see some inventive future transport ideas by emerging designers and browse through articles and cars, design and car culture here.