Our next tech collaboration is almost unreal

This computer graphics engine allows developers, designers and creatives alike to collaborate on an easy-to-use platform and create visual magic in 2D and 3D. Now, while we’re not exactly rendering photorealistic environments on our car screens just yet, our teams have started using the engine to help bridge code and the resulting visualisation for the infotainment systems in our next generation of cars. This will make it even more enjoyable to spend time inside the next generation of electric cars with unparalleled high-quality graphics in the cabin.

This work on visualisation inside the cabin is just one of many examples of how our cars are becoming more software-defined. By partnering up with some of the most exciting tech companies around and using cutting-edge core computers to power a variety of applications, we can break new ground in our next generation of cars and give our customers the best possible user experience.

The Infotainment team is currently working on visualising the driver-facing communication elements in the Driver Information Module (DIM), and this is just a tiny glimpse at the possibilities.

“The Unreal Engine is such a powerful tool, and we’re just using a fraction of it right now,” says Jonas Ramstrand, a senior software developer in our Infotainment team. “We want to have the option to do more in the future, especially the 3D applications that Unreal is good at.”

Empowering our developers with the tools they need is one of the many ways we’re working to bring software development in-house, thus boosting our development speeds and allowing us to improve our cars faster and faster through regular over-the-air updates.

As you’ll know, Volvo has mid-decade ambitions to develop at least half of our software in-house, and collaborations like this are key not only to creating excellent software, but to recruiting and keeping great tech talent.

“When I joined the team, one of the selling points was that we were using a game engine!” says Dongxu Guo, a junior software developer in the Driver Information team. “I was really excited because I play games and this is a powerful and promising engine.”

“To say I develop software for cars and to say I use Unreal, that’s super cool! Since most of the code I write was used in the Vehicle Control Unit, it wasn’t visual at all. Now, when you switch modes, you can see how all your work looks and behaves differently. You get visual feedback, which is super exciting and motivating.”

Know anyone looking at a career in tech with a leading car company? Send them here: https://jobs.volvocars.com/