OPTIS’s real-time visual ergonomics application corrects problems early in the vehicle design process.

Toulon, France – 2 February 2011 – Today OPTIS announces the launch of its real-time Visual Ergonomics (RTVE) application, which enhances its industry standard Visual Ergonomics solution. This software corrects reflection and visibility problems early in a vehicle’s design process.  

Using OPTIS’s unique physics and physiology-based rendering SPEOS VE3 solution, customers are able to perfectly analyze and measure both the ergonomic criteria and perceived quality of any user-machine interface. This solution helps designers to optimize and improve any form of driver or operator position, or aircraft cockpit, by choosing better materials, illuminate buttons and displays to cope with the environmental light conditions during the drive, flight or operation of a machine.

This software solution is used throughout the design process to study the vision and visibility for different driver positions depending on size and seating configuration, helping to avoid potentially dangerous reflections for the driver. 

The request to OPTIS to develop an interactive Visual Ergonomics tool emerged whilst the company’s engineering teams were working closely with automotive designers. In addition to having a precise analysis tool, the designers also wanted to dynamically visualize a driving or operating location, or cockpit in its real-life context – with real lighting effects, including light emission and reflection from objects. Such a technology solution needs to compute true physics-based rendering and in real-time.  

Thanks to OPTIS’s new RTVE application, the process is now complete because it allows the user to visualize the complete workspace / cockpit interactively and simultaneously, moving in real-time from any point of view. This allows a designer to detect then isolate problem areas such as distracting reflections, sun glare and other visual problems in the cockpit. This brand new solution ensures that the designer is able to consider all points of view in just a few seconds before analyzing precisely selected points of interest in the SPEOS VE3 solution. The results are dazzling. 

Dominique Chabaud,  VP R&D at OPTIS, comments, “As the original project began in 2006 it was obviously a challenge to simulate in real-time what traditional rendering algorithms generate in several hours. Most rendering software editors are focused on a graphics approach, disregarding physics and optical properties which is becoming more and more unacceptable to the users. OPTIS believed that to be successful, the start of the development needed to have the opposite approach: starting with the physics. I am happy to conclude that we have been successful.”