Digital Giant×Volkswagen
Configurator of the Future
01Current Configurator Landscape
The Current Pipline
We work inside it.
ABI owns and maintains the car data and the full configurator pipeline. Vendors operate inside defined constraints. These are not limits to bypass; they are the operating environment. These constraints are most often a biproduct of a pipeline that is trying to do everything; configurator, static images, video and interactive. The fact that the configurator operates "on demand" has an impact on the achievable quality... of all the assets in the pipeline; not just the configurator.
A
Render speed
Every image is produced in real time "on demand."
< 2 SECONDS · GTX 3070 / RTX 4070 EQUIVALENT
B
Rendering method
Screen Space Rendering is the only method allowed
SCREEN SPACE · IN-ENGINE
C
Scope
Full 3D scenes, no backplates. All content flows through one pipeline.
FULL 3D · SINGLE PIPELINE
02The Problem
Screen space rendering
A real constraint
Lighting is flat
Direct light dominates; surfaces lack directional falloff, so form reads shallow.
Material response
Paint, metal and plastic read alike. The body paint loses its wet, reflective gloss.
Color accuracy
With no indirect bounce, body color sits muted and drifts from the true sample.
Screen Space · current output · front ¾
The Problem · 0206.08.26
03Three Rendering Approaches
Same scene, three ways
to compute light
Current method
Screen Space
Uses only what is on screen: the depth buffer and surface normals.
- Fast and light; fits every constraint
- Reflections and indirect light are approximate
- Photorealism demands heavy artistry
- Material fidelity needs tuning per angle
Real-time GI
Lumen
Hybrid global illumination: trace screen space first, then distance fields.
- Lighting and material response are computed, not faked
- Reflections and indirect light are real
- Still real-time, in-engine
- Scales better for complex scenes
Reference only
Path Tracing
Offline, brute-force ray tracing. Shown only to complete the spectrum.
- Photorealistic ceiling
- Impractical for real-time interaction
- Not used in this presentation
04Our Solution
Normal Relighting
A quality lift that stays in Engine
A custom Unreal Engine tool, built by DG. It works entirely in-engine and in-camera, using normal maps as the foundation for per-angle directional control. No new geometry. No external assets.
01 · EXTERIOR
▶
SS + NORMAL RELIGHTINGCLIP
02 · INTERIOR · DOOR
▶
SS + NORMAL RELIGHTINGCLIP
03 · INTERIOR · SCREEN
▶
SS + NORMAL RELIGHTINGCLIP
Quality lift
Stronger lighting and material response, with no offline render.
Constraint-compliant
Still screen space. Still under two seconds. Still in-engine.
Scalable
Cheaper to maintain than more lights; faster than offline.
Future-proof
Works with the ABI pipeline exactly as it stands today.
05Greenfield Opportunity
Existing Technology Solutions
Lumen, plus DG Screen Capture
The move
Lumen as the foundation
- Render Lumen at speed with DG screen capture, under two seconds
- Lighting, materials and alignment become physically based
- Maintenance drops: fewer manual lights, better automatic accuracy
Honest trade-offs
What it costs
- Requires a pipeline change; real, but doable
- Video renders run slightly over two seconds
- Higher quality ceiling, with a cleaner real-time trade
Strategic fit
Where the industry is going
- Lumen is the direction Unreal Engine is heading
- Future-proofs the VW asset pipeline for next-gen rendering
- Positions DG as the partner who handles the transition
06Live Demo
Real-Time Web Player
The configurator, running live.
▶Launch live configurator
07Recommendation
Two solutions....
Where to next?
Path 1 · Start tomorrow
Normal Relighting
- Works within your current pipeline
- A meaningful, visible upgrade
- No risk, no retraining
- We can start tomorrow
Path 2 · Greenfield
Lumen Evolution
- Existing Digital Giant infrastructure
- Better scalability, lower maintenance
- Aligned with the industry direction
- Deployed with other major OEMs at scale