Innovations From The World of Audi
Audi's goal is to become a data-driven company - with FelGAN - employing artificial intelligence software to open new sources of creative inspiration for design. AI based software FelGAN is an in-house development by Audi's IT department that allows creatives to draw from a pool of unlimited ideas. The system acts as a spontaneous idea hub, allowing new versions and variations. Designers experiment with shape, color, surface structure, and other parameters in real time.
The name "FelGAN" is a mash-up of the German word for "rim" (Felge) and "GAN", the latter acronym for Generative Adversarial Networks. GANS are a special form of self-learning computer program that use two algorithms to compete as opponents, becoming better and better while doing so. Both algorithms are designed to learn from their mistakes and improve continuously. The generator's creations are so deceptively real, that even the human eye can barely distinguish them from real photos.Â
The designers who create the new wheels at the Audi Design Studio in Ingolstadt are always on the lookout for inspiration. The goal in using artificial intelligence, is using the principle of "thinking outside the box" as people tend to fall back on what is familiar to them. Motifs are discovered from completely new perspectives, recombining existing designs with new, in a targeted way.Â
Thomas Knispel, Head of Machine Learning & Data Science at Audi: "In the modern age, data brings immense added value for companies and their employees. Audi has committed to the goal of becoming a data-driven company..." https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/press-releases/reinventing-the-wheel-felgan-inspires-new-rim-designs-with-ai-15097?pk_campaign=newsletter-15097-2022-12-12
In the future, the technology behind FelGAN could be expanded into a comprehensive AI design platform to serve as further inspiration for other Audi departments. Today, Audi continues to take bold steps towards becoming a digitally, data-driven company.
