The rugged, brand-new 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport and the fully electric 2024 Honda Prologue are just a few products that Honda is developing using cutting-edge virtual reality technology. Honda designers use VR as a crucial tool for creating upcoming mobility products.
Honda designers’ ability to work with engineers on the design of the brand-new Prologue was affected by travel restrictions at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The styling team at the Honda Design Studio in Los Angeles, which oversaw the design of Prologue, amplified the use of VR to close the gap between its international design and development teams.
The LA-based design team was able to work more quickly and efficiently with various engineering and design groups using VR environments. Global design teams received instant feedback and made adjustments to the clay modeling, color, material, and finishes associated with the EV model thanks to the computer-aided design model. As a result, real-time collaboration improved the team’s functionality and the future role of VR design, helping Prologue design development stay on track.
“Incorporating virtual and augmented reality in the design process allowed our Honda engineers and designers to merge digital content and physical assets in a cohesive way to interact with what they’re experiencing and touching in an immersive environment,” said Mathieu Geslin, VR Technology Leader at Honda Design Studio.
While Honda Prologue used traditional design methods, such as a full-size exterior clay model, to fine-tune the details, it also extensively used VR and AR technology. These virtual techniques revolutionized the interior design process by enabling the visualization of countless color and material applications, enhancing teamwork, and facilitating quicker feedback.
“Virtual reality prototyping removed limitations to the interior design and allowed us to address feedback quicker and collaborate more cohesively with the HMI and color, materials, and finishes design teams,” said Lisa Lee, Interior Design Project Lead.
The first production model for which the LA-based team used VR for a product evaluation was the brand-new 2023 Honda Pilot. One of the numerous tests involved color evaluation in a virtual reality environment. It was beneficial for the color, materials, and finishes team because it allowed them to see all trims as a whole and allowed for quick communication between the design studios in LA and Japan.
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