Infotainment in Volvo EVs to use 3D tool, graphics from 'Fortnite' creator

MANILA: To deliver to customers the best possible user experience, Volvo is bringing photorealistic visualization technology into its future electric cars through a new collaboration with Epic Games. Through Volvo's collaboration with  Epic, the developer's Unreal Engine will provide high-quality graphics inside the Volvo cabin.

Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment and software company probably best known for the "Fortnite" game. The company's Unreal Engine is widely considered to be the most advanced real-time 3D creation tool used in various industries beyond games. 

Volvo Cars is the first European carmaker to use the Unreal Engine for development of the Human Machine Interface (HMI). More specifically, it will initially focus on the Driver Information Module (DIM), one of the displays inside the cabin that provide the driver with relevant information and infotainment features.

Much sharper renderings, richer colors, and brand-new 3D animations can be expected from Volvo in-car graphics, the carmaker said. 

"We need rich, immersive and responsive visualization inside our cars," said Henrik Green, Chief Product Officer at Volvo Cars. "Running Unreal Engine in our cars enables this and makes it even more enjoyable to spend time inside a Volvo."

By coupling the Unreal Engine with the high-performance computing power of the third-generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms, the next generation of Volvo cars will set a new standard in graphics and infotainment system performance.

As a result, Volvo Cars’ next generation infotainment system will be more than twice as fast as its predecessor, while graphics generation and processing inside the cabin will be up to 10 times faster.

The first car to contain the new graphics is the new, all-electric flagship model that Volvo Cars will reveal later this year. That model is the first of a new generation of all-electric Volvo cars as it aims to only sell pure electric cars by 2030.

As time progresses, the company foresees additional opportunities for Unreal Engine to advance other areas of technology within new Volvo cars. Volvo developers continue to explore new applications and other software-driven technology platforms for safety technologies. 

By mid-decade, Volvo aims to develop half of all the software inside its cars in-house. For this reason, the carmaker is recruiting extensively for software development talents. By joining the company, coding talent has numerous opportunities to work on exciting and groundbreaking new in-car applications and platforms.

Photos from Volvo

Also read: Volvo becomes first carmaker to join SteelZero fossil-free steel sourcing initiative