KBB - April 2009 - (Page 50)

T ech CAVE Exploration New technology innovates product development process Open any issue of K+BB, scan the pages, and you’re sure to ﬁnd many new and innovative products for the kitchen and bath—the ﬁnished end product, that is. The ones you specify for your clients and the ones we, on the editorial staff, crave. But what about the innovation and technology that go into designing that product…in other words, the innovation behind the innovation? For this month’s Tech column, we decided to take a step back to the research and development phase, which, in this case, is anything but a step back. Rather, it’s an amazing and progressive leap forward—and maybe a sign of things to come. So what do automotive, aircraft and now appliance design have in common? The answer lies not in the common initial letter “a,” but in four letters: C-A-V-E, an acronym for Computer-Aided Virtual Environment. CAVE creates virtual but very realistic images where designers can actually move in and around the products projected. Better yet, designers can take products that do not yet exist in the real world and evaluate, change and even try them out in a variety of surroundings. While other industries have availed Miele has brought virtual reality into the realm of appliance design. CAVE themselves of this technology (the aforementioned auto and avitechnology creates a virtual but very realistic environment where designers can ation industries; think human-machine interfaces and ﬂight simula- actually move in and around products that do not yet exist in the real world and tors), Miele is the ﬁrst to pioneer its use in the household appliance evaluate, change and even try them out in a variety of surroundings. sector. The company, which was founded in 1899, began its morethan-century-old story with the mantra immer besser, a German phrase high-resolution cinema projectors, each with a luminance of approximeaning “forever better.” This inspiration has been the catalyst for its mately 7,000 ANSI lumens, project perspective, polarized semi-images extensive product line and now its product development process. from behind to a huge, 15-sq.-m projection screen of black glass. The The biggest beneﬁt of this highly developed projection technology? screen, which extends to the ceiling, is split into three sections and sus“It allows exploring concepts and prototype product designs without pended at an angle of 120 degrees to eliminate any potential distorhaving to construct physical models, saving lots of time and money,” said tion caused by the weight of the glass. Four additional head tracking Matt Kueny, senior manager of product development. Furthermore, cameras monitor the viewer’s movements and transmit this informaaccording to Miele senior designer Andreas Enslin, “the development tion to nine processor-clustered workstations. These workstations recalprocess is dramatically accelerated. The new technology enables us to culate 6.7 million pixels at the exact moment of movement, constantimmediately discuss different proposals and ideas with our engineering or ly adjusting according to the changed position of the viewer. The marketing colleagues in real time, allowing us to try things out.” This short- resulting impression perfectly mimics a real environment or real prodens the overall product development process, ensuring “faster approval uct, thanks to a unique pair of glasses fitted with polarization filters. or rejection of concepts as they arise,” said Kueny. But while the technol- The glasses separate the images created by the cluster and provide ogy can save money in the long run, it does not come cheap: The invest- all required reflections and shadows for the left and right eye. The ment for this virtual tool totals more than a real $2 million. Yet that may be designer’s brain ﬁnally recomposes the image to create an excellent a small price to pay for realizing the dream of being able to walk around approximation of perspective. and explore new designs. Some experts might argue that utilizing CAVE in Phew. Let’s break it down in layman’s terms for those of us who the design of products may undoubtedly be the wave of the future if, in are right-brained: CAVE is a projection technology that creates a fact, the hefty expense can be justiﬁed. three-dimensional virtual reality. Users can interact with it by look- HOW IT WORKS The technology is a highly sophisticated system that marries optics, electronics and software. As explained by the folks at Miele: Eight ing at the high-resolution projection through glasses that have polarization filters. Two images are created for each eye from slightly different perspectives. The overall dimensional impression is created by the combined partial images to impart the feeling of a Continued on page 52 50 + K BB April 2009 / www.kbbonline.com / The Ofﬁcial Sponsor of K/BIS www.kbis.com http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of KBB - April 2009

KBB - April 2009
Contents
Online Contents
Online News
Editorial
Focus
Trends
Products
Options
Profile
Abroad
Design
On the Hill
Mixed Message
Green
Tech
Additions
Education
Editorial Index
Ad Index
Favorites

KBB - April 2009