Volvo uses Unreal Engine to develop the interface on car screens

Volvo has partnered with Epic Games to use the Unreal graphics engine. It will be implemented on the screens implemented in future machines, to make realistic graphical representations of the elements that the machine’s sensors detect. Also, Unreal Engine will make it easier to develop animated and easy-to-use touch screen interfaces, something that bothers many car companies.

Volvo cars will display realistic on-screen graphics for what external sensors detect

The technology from Epic Games will be used especially for the creation of the so-called “Human-Machine Interface”, ie the graphical interface that users will use every day on board the car. Epic Games will assist Volvo in developing the design of this Volvo-supervised interface to ensure that it and its use comply with the strictest safety rules on which the Swedish carmaker has built its entire reputation.

Unreal Engine is easy to use, but it is also a very powerful technology, allowing a realistic representation of the elements on the screen. Thus, the car model and the environment could be displayed on the car screen in a very close way to reality. Thus, users do not have to learn a new visual “language” with abstract representations of some elements on the screen, being able to see everything on the screen with a realistic look.

Volvo representatives say that by simplifying the graphical representations of the elements detected by the external sensors, users will no longer be overwhelmed behind the wheel and will be able to process the information provided more easily. Companies will also work together to simplify the display of other elements on the screen, such as the autonomy of electric vehicles, navigation or speed.

However, it is not clear when we will see the first cars with Volvo’s Unreal Engine-based interfaces on the streets. This is a partnership for the Swedish company’s next-generation car. However, this is not the first car company to turn to Epic Games. Previously, the new Hummer EV, developed by General Motors, applied the same strategy to the onboard infotainment system, developing everything with the help of Unreal Engine.

source: The Verge