Augmented Reality Assist for Crash Test Preparation

In automotive crash test preparation, hundreds of static measurement points are marked at specific coordinates on the interior and exterior of the car for regulatory and development purposes. These points are traditionally marked by referring to a PDF document having coordinates and location information and are measured pre- and post-crash test to study the deformation at various locations in the car. This way of marking points is a time-consuming process since the technician must judge the position of points on the car by referring to a document and often leads to inconsistency and inaccuracy. This traditional workflow has been made efficient and consistent by using augmented reality. This paper explains the design and development of an AR application (core software, user interface, and software integration with internal crash test preparation software/database) for Microsoft’s head-mounted device—HoloLens 2. The present paper addresses image tracking and model tracking concepts with their benefits and limitations pertaining to the current problem statement, perspective challenges faced, and the method (virtual place alignment) developed to correct the same, real-time app generation architecture, and how the AR marker was designed, which is used across various car models. The paper also highlights the validation done at the Mercedes-Benz Crash Test Facility in Stuttgart, Germany, and the improvements achieved in accuracy and efficiency. Also, as next steps, the various potential areas in passive safety where AR can be adopted and potential migration to continuously evolving, more stable AR devices have been discussed. Keywords: Augmented reality, Mixed reality, Digital overlay, Crash test preparation, Augmented reality in automotive crash test