Thesis Work – Light Rendering and Simulation

Job title:

Thesis Work – Light Rendering and Simulation

Company

Volvo Cars

Job description

Thesis Worker at Volvo Cars
Welcome to explore the world of Volvo Cars by writing your thesis with us! As a thesis worker in our organization you are supported by a supervisor who follows you during your project. All thesis projects are arranged in business critical areas and therefore you will be able to contribute to our company purpose – providing freedom to move in a safe, sustainable and personal way – from day one!About this opportunity – BackgroundLooking for a master piece for your master thesis project? Innovation starts with being curious. At Volvo Cars, we believe that being curious and truly committed to understanding people is the key to future success. We are people who care about other people, working together to create new technologies and innovations for safe, sustainable and convenient mobility. Want to join us as a Master Thesis student?
We are looking for driven and motivated students interested in pursuing their master thesis within Vehicle Tophat development during the spring term 2025.Vehicle Tophat is one of six development units within Engineering (R&D) at Volvo Cars where the teams develop stateof-the-art Interior and Exterior. Vehicle Tophat aims to develop the most sustainable and safe Tophat solutions to provide freedom to move in a changing society. The customer value is optimized through attractive designs utilizing new technology trends. Speed to market is important in every aspect of what we do. And we attract and develop talents in a global competitive world, creating an open and transparent environment with a collaborative mindset. Within our team of over 800 engineers at Vehicle Tophat, we are offering a broad range of master thesis projects.We at Vehicle Tophat work with development tools early in the concept phase to determine the feasibility of concepts through accurate simulations. Simulation tools for light rendering are essential for creating realistic and immersive visual experiences to be able to provide qualitative and quantitative assessment. They allow accurate simulation of light behavior, enhancing both visual realism and functionality in digital environments. These tools are crucial for optimizing lighting conditions, improving user experience, and aiding decision-making in projects where lighting plays a key role in performance, aesthetics, and energy efficiency. Within this domain, we are offering two Master Thesis projects that you can read below in more detail.We are looking for candidates with excellent academic records who are open, innovative, driven and team-players. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of our work, we are extending our search to a broad range of competences. If you think that you have what it takes to help us in our journey to deliver a safe, human-centric technology, read below on what we do & the various areas we can offer the thesis work in!
Note: Following are the two thesis projects we have currently on offer. Please specify in your application cover letter the project(s) of your interest.Scope of the thesis workProject #1: VIRTUAL SIMULATION OF CAR ILLUMINATION USING VREDBackground
Perceived Quality (PQ) is an attribute area within the department Vehicle Tophat. The department is responsible for developing solutions for interior and exterior hardware and software. PQ is a shared service within Vehicle Tophat and consists of five sub attributes – Geometry, Material, Illumination, Paint and Surface Finish. Perceived Quality is a major enabler for Volvo Cars since everything the customer experiences influences the overall perception of our brand and who we are.Currently at PQ Illumination, complete car virtual simulation of light is performed in SPEOS. Ansys SPEOS is a highprecision simulation tool for optical systems based on human visual perception. These simulations are however limited in different aspects. SPEOS simulations are engineering dependent and thus requires detailed virtual design, the prepwork is time consuming, the simulations put high demand on the ingoing data maturity, and it also requires high computational resources.Objective
The objective of this master thesis project is to investigate how Autodesk VRED can be used as a simulation tool for car lighting in the virtual development process. The outcome should serve as a recommendation for the PQ Illumination team moving forward.Scope
The main scope is to develop recommendations and guidelines on how VRED can be used as a complementary tool for simulating car illumination. Thus, a large part will focus on the evaluation of VRED, including correlations studies and recommendations.Understanding the possibilities and limitations VRED has regarding visualizing/simulating light sources

• Comparing available light source input data such as IES and Ray files
• Investigate light visualization and rendering possibilities, such as color and intensity distribution, using the “Photometric Parameters” functionality in VRED
• Investigate representation of indirect light and directly visible light sources
• Review options of materials used in models today (created and/or scanned) with regards to light visualization
• Conduct correlation studies comparing virtual light sources in VRED, SPEOS simulations and real-life light sources
• Develop and propose guidelines and recommendations for Perceived Quality on how to use VRED for virtual simulation and visualization of car illumination.

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Project #2: Evaluation of Synopsys LucidDrive night driving simulator softwareBackground
Night driving presents unique challenges such as reduced visibility, glare from headlights, and driver fatigue. The possibility to emulate parts of night driving through virtual simulators are essential for frontloading the development of our future beam patterns and their functionality. Volvo currently use Ansys AVxcelerate as our main night driving simulator and continuously develops our ways of working in this tool. However, a recent event that the supplier of our current night driving simulator Ansys AVxcelerate are being acquired by Synopsys with their own night simulator software, Synopsys LucidDrive, has raised concerns about the future availability and support for the existing simulator. This thesis aims to evaluate Synopsys LucidDrive to determine its potential to compete with or replace Ansys AVxcelerate.The goal is to ensure Volvo remains well-prepared for any outcome of the ongoing acquisition, or if superior functionality of the software justifies a transition to the new platform.Objective
The primary objective of this thesis is to assess the performance and effectiveness of a new night driving simulator in comparison to the current one. This includes evaluating the new simulator’s realism, user experience, and functionality.This will extend not only to the driving simulator itself but also to various interfacing software such as Matlab-Simulink, IPG Carmaker, Python, Blender, Synopsys LucidShape and Ansys SPEOS. The study will ultimately provide recommendations on whether the new simulator could or perhaps even should replace the existing one.Scope
Literature Review:

• Review existing research on night driving challenges and simulator technologies.
• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of current night driving simulator.

Simulator Evaluation:

• Conduct a detailed technical assessment of the new simulator and try to replicate various setups in the new simulator by assessing time consuming tasks such as importing car geometry with applied materials, building realistic roads and creating functional night driving scenarios.
• Compare the new simulator with the current software in terms of features, usability, handling of large-scale scenes and realism.
• Compare strengths of what the two simulators offers for the projected future. E.g. that Ansys AVxcelerate seems currently focused on comprehensive sensor simulation and integration with various driving simulators while Synopsys LucidDrive seems to excel in headlamp beam pattern evaluation and real-time simulation.

User Study:

• Design and conduct experiments with participants to evaluate their performance and experience using both simulators.
• Collect and analyze data on various metrics such as perceived realism, error rates, and subjective feedback.

Data Analysis:

• Use statistical methods to compare the performance of the two simulators.
• Identify significant differences and potential areas for improvement.

Risk Assessment:

• Evaluate the risks associated with continuing to use the current simulator given the acquisition.
• Assess the potential benefits and drawbacks of transitioning to the new simulator.

Recommendations:

• Based on the findings, provide recommendations on whether the new simulator should replace the current software.
• Suggest potential enhancements for both simulators and their methodology of usage.

What you´ll bring
We are looking for students with the following profiles:

• Highly analytic and a drive to succeed in what you set out to accomplish. You should have a genuine interest in virtual visualization, simulation and product rendering.
• Master’s degree students in: Industrial/Product Design Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Graphics, Engineering Mathematics and Computational Science or equivalent. Preferably programs where virtual visualization and rendering is covered.
• Competence/experience in high-end visualization and rendering software, such as VRED, 3DS Max and Blender, is required.
• Knowledge in computer graphics, CAD, programming, scripting, simulation, and photometry is valuable.

This thesis project requires that you are on site at office in Volvo Cars Gothenburg.DurationDoes this sound like your next challenge? Below are some practicalities you need to be aware of:

• Tentative proposed thesis work period: 20th January 2025 to 27th of June 2025 (dates can be flexible with +/- 7 days)
• Academic credits: equivalent to 30 ECTS
• Number of students: 1-2 students per project (2 preferred)

Welcome with your application by submitting your resume, cover letter (including which project(s) you would like to work and why) and grades/transcripts via the link below no later than 31st October 2024. We will be continuously reviewing the applications and selecting the candidates, so apply as early as you can!Note that we do not accept any applications via e-mail. If you have any questions regarding the position, you are welcome to contact. For questions about the recruitment process, please contactProject 1:
Manager, Martin Månsson, martin.mansson@volvocars.com,
Supervisor, Josephine Eriksson, josephine.eriksson.2@volvocars.comProject 2:
Manager, Ingela Björklund, ingela.bjorklund@volvocars.com
Supervisor, Henrik Mattsson, henrik.mattsson@volvocars.comVolvo Cars – Driving change together
Volvo Cars’ success is the result of a collaborative, diverse, and inclusive working environment. Today, we are one of the most well-known and respected car brands, with around 43,000 employees across the globe. At Volvo Cars, your career is designed around your skills and aspirations, allowing you to reach your fullest potential.Gothenburg, SE, 40531Job requisition ID: 73931

Expected salary

Location

Göteborg

Job date

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 00:12:24 GMT

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