"I probably know the Audi A6 assembly better than most A6 fitters now," says Alperen Öztürk. He used to work on the Audi A8 assembly line before he took over the operation of the NavVis M6 indoor mobile mapping system, gliding through the massive production halls.
Total area scanned to date is 250,000 square meters in 250 hours, or 34 working days. That roughly equates to 1,000 square meters per hour.
Öztürk steers the mobile mapper through each room at walking pace. The laser scanners above his head capture the surrounding area as he moves, and the initial contours of scan coverage are immediately visible on the display. In a very short time, an accurate digital image of the as-is conditions of existing buildings is created.
Even while in home office, our factory planners are able to take measurements in production halls without being there or even picking up a ruler. These measurements are then used to create highly accurate plans of the facilities remotely.
After the data has been processed and made available from NavVis IndoorViewer, stakeholders can navigate through the virtual production halls using any standard web browser on a computer, tablet or smartphone. Users can look around and zoom in on production lines and machinery. Key details are visible and highlighted as points of interest.
Another benefit of the mobile mapping system, meanwhile, is the point cloud it has generated that records every machine and system. With the aid of machine learning, the point clouds are then incorporated into digital factory CAD models so that the entire hall, including all machines, systems and shelves, can be accessed and monitored virtually.
This has saved employees at Audi a great deal of time and cost – and realizes the goal of production planning that’s site independent. “Our digital planning system offers enormous advantages, especially now during the Coronavirus pandemic,” explains Bongartz.
"Even while in home office, our factory planners are able to take measurements in production halls without being there or even picking up a ruler. These measurements are then used to create highly accurate plans of the facilities remotely."
For next steps, the plan is for all production halls at the Neckarsulm site to be scanned digitally, and then the neighboring site at Ingolstadt. Business trips to other factories around the world would become unnecessary if the factory buildings there also become virtually accessible.
Another possible application of the data generated by NavVis M6 are virtual factory tours. In the foreseeable future, visitors picking up their new cars may be able to move through the assembly line wearing 3D glasses and gain insights into areas that were previously closed to the public.
Data protection is still considered for these tours, as André Bongartz explains: “Even when production is at a standstill, there is always someone on the move in these halls.” So that no persons should be recognizable in the panoramic images, all faces are automatically blurred.
Images and video © 2021 AUDI AG. All rights reserved.
Even when production is at a standstill, there is always someone on the move in these halls.
The speed and scalability of mobile mapping devices are the best they've ever been, bringing survey-grade accuracy to the most challenging projects. Get hands on with NavVis M6 and NavVis VLX and see for yourself what's possible.
