Students from TUM’s iPraktikum developed a photorealistic virtual experience for BMW that revolutionizes automotive design reviews.
Key Takeaways
- Future BMW models can now be experienced virtually long before physical prototypes exist
- Design accessibility is improved across departments, accelerating innovation cycles
- Academic-industry collaboration through TUM iPraktikum demonstrates real-world value
- New benchmarks set in realism, usability, and early-stage design validation for BMW Group
Virtual Prototyping Transforms Automotive Design
Imagine strolling around the next generation BMW sedan while sunlight refracts across its sculpted flanks — yet not a single physical prototype has been built. What once sounded like science fiction is now the reality of virtual prototyping.
In collaboration with BMW Group, students from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Research Group Applied Education Technologies developed a photorealistic virtual experience that allows stakeholders to explore next-generation BMW models in unprecedented detail. The team realized this project as part of the renowned iPraktikum course, transforming how BMW conducts design reviews and demonstrating how academic-industry partnerships can accelerate innovation within the BMW ecosystem.
Bridging Virtual Prototypes and Real-World Decisions
The Challenge: Accessible Early-Stage Designs
Automotive design cycles involve complex processes with numerous stakeholders across design, engineering, and production. Traditionally, design teams required physical models or high-fidelity renderings to review early-stage designs, making the process expensive and time-consuming. The BMW Group sought a solution to democratize access to future designs early in the process, enabling teams to gather feedback and align decisions sooner.
The Solution: A Photorealistic Virtual Experience
The student development team created a fully immersive application for the Apple Vision Pro headset that visualizes upcoming BMW models with extraordinary realism — anchored in the real world or, at a switch, inside a virtual environment. Using advanced visualization techniques such as ambient occlusion, baked shadows and optimized rendering, the proof of concept delivers lifelike detail that allows decision-makers to perceive scale, ergonomics, and aesthetics as if standing beside a real vehicle.
From Requirements to Delivery: A Student-Led Innovation
The iPraktikum Approach
The iPraktikum project course at TUM enables interdisciplinary student teams to collaborate with industry partners and develop real-world solutions. Over the course of the project, students progressed from requirements elicitation through iterative design, prototyping, and testing, culminating in a fully functional proof of concept that they delivered to BMW Group.
Features that Make a Difference
- Photorealism at Scale: Ambient occlusion and baked-in shadows enhance visual fidelity without compromising performance
- Intuitive User Experience: Natural navigation and interaction ensure that stakeholders move confidently through a review within minutes
- Real-World or Virtual Spaces: With one click, stakeholders can place models directly in their actual workspace or step into a fully digital environment
- Seamless Design Workflow Integration: Easy file import and organization enable early design validation and continuous iteration
- Controller-Free & Mobile: Apple Vision Pro runs the application cable-free, with no PC or trackers required, allowing reviews to happen anywhere
Impact on BMW’s Design Review Process
By adopting this virtual review approach, BMW can involve more stakeholders earlier in the product life cycle. Design concepts become accessible beyond specialized design teams, fostering collaboration across departments such as engineering, marketing, and production planning. This directly supports BMW’s commitment to innovation in production by shortening feedback loops and ensuring that realistic, immersive previews rather than static renderings inform decisions.
Academic-Industry Synergy
This project exemplifies the potential of university-industry partnerships to drive meaningful innovation. The Research Group Applied Education Technologies at TUM leverages cutting-edge technologies and student creativity to solve real-world challenges that global leaders like BMW face. The collaboration provided students with invaluable experience in agile development, user-centered design, and state-of-the-art rendering technologies, while BMW gained a forward-looking solution that can inform future design strategies.
Looking Forward
This collaboration developed a photorealistic virtual experience that marks a significant step in BMW’s journey toward digital-first design processes. The solution provides immersive access to future models at the earliest stages, enabling faster, more inclusive design reviews and setting the stage for broader applications in production and marketing.
Looking ahead, the concept could evolve into a scalable platform supporting multiple vehicle programs and integrating directly with BMW’s existing design tools. As automotive development grows ever more digital, the partnership between TUM and BMW demonstrates how academic collaboration can turn fresh ideas into concrete innovation within one of the world’s leading premium car manufacturers.
Project Details
- Partner: BMW Group
- Technology: Apple Vision Pro, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Ambient Occlusion
- Project Lead: Maximilian Anzinger
- Coach: Josef Georg Schmid
- Developer: Thomas Patrick Biedermann, Lucas Brand, Casper du Jardin Kejser, Alexander Plaikner, Mark Alexander Stockhausen, Polina Ulitina, Anastasiia Vereshchagina
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