One of the world’s largest companies with over $160 billion in sales in 2018, Ford Motor recently announced its adoption of the 3D virtual reality tool Gravity Sketch. At the Ford Design Studio in Dearborn, Michigan, a designer enters a room and uses a headset and controllers to design a 3D virtual reality car around himself, using gestures that, through motion tracking, imitates pen and paper sketching.
Traditionally, automotive design starts with 2D sketching and transformed into a 3D model using computer-aided software. The process could take weeks unlike Gravity Sketch, which skips the 2D step and only takes a couple of hours. The designer can tailor the structure with a 360-degree view, resulting in a more occupant-centric and better-designed car.