In an increasingly fast-paced world with ever-shorter product lifecycles and development phases, the need for efficiency has grown across the board. The realm of automotive audio and acoustics modelling is no exception: as the number of car models increases, so does the complexity of customer requirements. Innovative technical solutions are needed to develop customized products that meet the market’s broad but personalized demands.
HARMAN has responded with “HARMAN VirtualWORKS”, a virtual simulation concept that drastically reduces the need for physical samples throughout the development process, saving companies both time and money. Based on a modular approach, it makes meeting the entire spectrum of customer requirements easier.
The modular approach of the HARMAN VirtualWORKS concept combines the engineering process and “The Cookbook”, which includes various simulation ingredients and analysis recipes to solve almost any automotive audio issue. Presented in a special problem-requirement-solution format, “The Cookbook” makes it easy to find the perfect recipe through recommended simulations.
HARMAN VirtualWORKS offers both tried and tested HARMAN solutions and off-the-shelf options. It draws on the company’s extensive numerical simulation expertise and project experience, as well as on its deep knowledge of car audio system design and evaluation.
As Michael Strauss, Senior Manager for Virtual Product Development at HARMAN, sums up: “HARMAN VirtualWORKS translates your big ideas into the virtual domain. So you’re building up a digital mock-up in detail that includes everything needed for a multi-physics model whether it’s a component or the whole car.” This creates a virtual representation of the real parts, which in turn makes it possible to simulate vehicle acoustics.
What’s more, HARMAN VirtualWORKS provides a platform that promotes close cooperation between the R&D, design, engineering, and simulation teams. Ultimately, the aim is to make fully virtual development possible. This could include, tuning an audio system for a car that only exists online.
However, HARMAN VirtualWORKS doesn’t stop there. Virtual Product Development is not only applicable to the automotive world, but also other product engineering departments, both internal and external, that rely on the simulation capabilities of the VPD team. Michael Strauss and his team supported amongst others the product development process of HARMAN’s successful JBL Charge 3 portable Bluetooth speaker or the Harman Kardon Invoke™ Intelligent speaker featuring Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant. Moreover, the service is also available and offered to third parties and OEMs in other industries supporting them throughout the product development processes.
The new HARMAN VirtualWORKS website provides more detailed information about this concept that goes beyond helping just the automotive space and explains how it works. For more information, go to: http://www.harmanvirtualworks.com
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