Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies as a Tool for Presentation of New Ideas and Products on Fairs: Case study MAHEPA

Abstract

Virtual and augmented reality can also be used for the presentation of new products and ideas to the public. With their help, new products can be introduced to the users and potential buyers already during the product development stage. In this article, our experiences with the presentation of the research results of the MAHEPA project are presented. MAHEPA is a European Horizon 2020 project focusing on the development of two hybrid powertrains for airplanes of the future. Because the first flights with these propulsion systems were not planed until 2020, the presentation of the powertrains development progress during the AERO 2019 flight-expo was only possible with the use of virtual models. In the article, we present our experiences with the development of the presentation based on virtual and augmented reality and show that such presentation can constitute a competitive and cost-effective alternative to classical exhibitions. Our presentation was divided into three distinct parts, using HoloLens glasses and the HTC Vive headset, while QR codes were used for controlling the research results presentation on mobile devices. All three presentations were developed in the Unity game engine.