MUENSTER, Germany — To gain a realistic impression of colors, effects and surfaces on a complete car during the early design phase, the designers of BASF’s Coatings division have developed virtual AUVOT (Automotive Vehicles of Trends) shapes. BASF’s AUVOTs display the interaction between color and geometry, and the importance of light in the digital world of automotive coatings. They help automotive manufacturers understand the impact of color in industrial design in one shape with two distinct sides.

BASF introduces four different AUVOTs that stand for various car segments on the automotive market – from compact to SUV. Each shape represents distinct automotive features that reveal effect highlights on the edges, showcasing dramatic flop behavior at the same time. While one side of the automotive geometry simulates various elements that can be found on every car, the other side features spectacular unreal formations that reveal the potential of automotive coating and give surprising insights on the behavior of a color.

“To visualize and display all elements relevant to coatings – such as the color itself, the effect and the surface – is already challenging in the real world and requires deep knowledge. Translating this knowledge into the virtual world and bridging those two worlds opens a new field of work. Our mission was the technically correct and primary realistic appearance of paint as well as a persuasive portrayal of a color concept on the right shape,” said Florina Trost, Senior Designer Automotive Coatings Solutions EMEA at BASF.

Representing stylistic elements of BASF’s iconic Dome Shapes and panels, which will still be used to present the future trends, the virtual 3D shapes support designers to evaluate automotive colors for the upcoming model year. The AUVOTs are a valuable tool for OEM designers and BASF’s coatings experts to speed up and perfect the overall color design process, as they are no longer solely dependent on physical samples that need to be painted and shipped. The digital twin of a real color concept can also be used as a starting point for further discussions with BASF’s designers, which help to develop unique shades that perfectly fit to the OEM’s models and also underline the value of the brand. Therefore, the digital geometries of the AUVOTs have a minimum amount of trim parts to interrelate with transportation design.

As virtual tools, the AUVOTs are part of BASF’s digital paint competence. They complement BASF’s AUROOM^®, a unique digital platform that enables OEM designers access to the database of photo-realistic virtual car colors and tools.