Product In Touch: when the product is molded by touch

The “Product In Touch – Development and Industrial Validation of a Multimodal Virtual Prototyping for In-Car Design” project has started in July 2018.

Product in Touch: partnership

Funded by PT2020, this innovative project will be developed between 2018 and 2021 by a partnership formed by the technological entities INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory and CCG – Center for Computer Graphics, and the company EDILÁSIO, one of the first mold manufacturing companies established in Portugal, specialized in the development and manufacturing of molds and tools for injection of thermoplastics and die casting

The goal of Product In Touch is to explore the tactile feel to improve the design of specific plastic components to be integrated into the interior of the car, according to customer quality perception.

This project encompasses the development of haptic actuators and multimodal virtual reality systems and the in-depth study of tactile perception and its neuropsychological correlates. The CCG contributes in this project with works of its applied research domains CVIG (Computer Vision Interaction and Graphics) and PIU (Perception, Interaction and Usability).

Product in Touch: expected results

As final results we will have a tactile sensor that extracts tactile characteristics of real plastic components; new haptic actuators for virtual reality; a better understanding of the relationship between physical aspects of plastic components and quality perception and customer satisfaction; and an advanced virtual prototyping method based on multisensory (tactile-visual) stimulation that allows customers to check quality and product preference analysis in a virtual way prior to entering in the production of the final product, namely the injection molding of plastic components.

In short, the Product in Touch solution will achieve a tactile feel standardization in a virtual environment to improve the design, quality and manufacturing process in the injection molding of plastic components used in the automotive interior.

Financing

The “Product In Touch – Development and Industrial Validation of a Multimodal Virtual Prototyping for In-Car Design” project is supported by the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program – Compete 2020 and is co-financed by Portugal 2020 and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Product In Touch project partnership photo