PART TO ART.(Burrows NVisage technology that turns CAD assemblies into photorealistic 3D models)(Company Business and Marketing)

THE SAME CAD DATA USED TO DESIGN CARS IS BEING EMPLOYED TO MARKET THEM

Virtual prototyping has brought sizable time- and cost-savings to the automotive industry. Now, in a demonstration of the synergy that computer graphics is bringing about among traditionally disparate areas of manufacturing, the same CAD files that streamline car design are serving to create promotional materials.

Using a new conversion and rendering process, Burrows, a UK-based design agency, is turning CAD assemblies into glossy, photorealistic 3D models, ready to roar across the television screen or grace the pages of technical brochures--all before the cars have even been physically prototyped.

The process, which Burrows took three years to develop, is called NVisage, and comprises a mixture of off-the-shelf software, hardware (including Advanced Rendering Technology's RenderDrives), and proprietary code. "We like to describe NVisage as a digital camera that takes photographs of things that don't really exist," says Keith Harmer, head of 3D studios for Burrows.

Burrows first embarked on the NVisage project when client Ford Motor Co. asked it to produce a photorealistic 3D model early in a vehicle's design process. The design firm field-tested numerous products, but finally found the best solution was to develop its own turnkey system.

Car Conversion

In order to get from CAD data to glossy brochure, Burrows artists must first obtain all the CAD model fries for a vehicle--"every nut and bolt, every sprocket in the gear box" says Harmer. In the case of Ford, Burrows downloads the data from the car manufacturer's server. The data is then converted, using a proprietary process, to a 3D model, then rendered with ART's dedicated rendering hardware, the RenderDrives. The resulting product is a 3D model that is ready for a multitude of uses. "It's similar to a real prototype in that you can decide what to do with it: shoot photographic stills, or film it driving over a bumpy road, for example," says Harmer.