Volvo Cars and Epic Games to Partner on a High-Resolution 3D Digital Driver's Display Powered by the Unreal Engine

author: Manish Kharinta   

Last month, Volvo's all-electric sub-brand Polestar released its sales figures for Q1, 2022. Although many automakers are struggling to meet their sales targets as a result of the semiconductor shortage that's affecting vehicle production, Polestar managed to achieve record sales in the first four months of the year, partly due to the growing popularity of EVs and the company's commitment to innovation.

One example of this innovation is from Polestar's parent company Volvo Cars. The automaker recently announced that its upcoming offerings will come with in-car graphics offering photorealistic 3D visuals.

Volvo's new 3D graphics program will use the Unreal Engine, which is now in its fifth generation. The creator of the Unreal Engine is Epic Games. 

The Unreal Engine is widely used in the film and gaming industries to create realistic 3D graphics. Volvo says the high-resolution graphics will offer a less distracting and easier viewing experience.

So far, Volvo is the first major automaker to confirm that it will use the Unreal Engine for in-car graphics. But we expect other companies to follow suit quite soon. 

Epic Games was established in 1998 and its collaboration with Volvo is the first foray of a game developer into the auto industry. The company is confident that it will deliver an extraordinary visual experience to future Volvo vehicles powered by its Unreal Engine.

With its high-resolution graphics, the company also wants to explore new frontiers for entertaining passengers. Initially, the visuals derived from the Unreal Engine will make their debut in Volvo's upcoming Digital Driver's Display.

This is a strategic decision considering that the information in the Digital Driver Display is crucial and is frequently accessed. The company will later integrate the same type of 3D graphics into its infotainment system. 

Volvo's Digital Driver's Display powered by the Unreal Engine will also help reduce information processing time. So far, Volvo has not released details about the vehicles that will feature the new high-resolution 3D graphics. But Volvo aims to become an all-electric brand by the year 2030, so it will likely appear in the many new EVs the company plans to offer by then.

The Swedish automaker's electric subsidiary Polestar just unveiled the all-new Polestar 3 SUV, which will be built in the U.S. at Volvo's factory in Charleston, South Carolina.

The company's Polestar 2 EV was also the world's first to use the all-new Android automotive OS. As a result, passengers can access popular Google applications like Google Assistant, Gmail, Maps, and YouTube Music without syncing their smartphones.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.