BASF introduces AUROOM™, a platform for the digital visualization of automotive exterior colors

• AUROOM is the portal to a database of authentic, digitized automotive colors
  
• Virtual coatings including complex effects can immediately be mapped on any 3D geometry for color assessment
• Photo-realistic visualization speeds up color design process of OEM designers

With AUROOM, BASF’s Coatings division introduces a digital platform which enables OEM designers to access a database of photo-realistic virtual car colors.  BASF’s virtual colors capture all facets of automotive coatings including lightness flop, color flop and sparkling. By mapping these colors on car models, OEM designers can virtually paint every color proposal and gain realistic impressions of colors and effects on a complete car already in an early design phase. AUROOM will be a valuable tool for OEM designers 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. AUROOM provides further innovative features like real-time side by side comparison of different color shades of the same color group to make the right color decision easier.

“Automotive coatings are highly complex colors with texture, color position and surface defining the overall impression. To easily understand the impact of these color parameters on a 3-D shape, the digitized colors enable the user to see this on their individual models” said Mark Gutjahr, head of Automotive Color Design EMEA at BASF’s Coatings division. Working together with almost every car manufacturer on the market, BASF currently produces over 600 colors in Europe with new colors constantly being designed. This massive portfolio will now be scanned by cameras. The huge amount of appearance data generated during the scan is processed using a sophisticated mathematic model while BASF’s colorimetric know-how contributes to ensure its authenticity. OEMs can then access the comprehensive color data at the AUROOM platform and render it on different 3D shapes provided by the platform or CAD shapes of their own models.

“Digitalization is an important topic, especially in the automotive industry. We have a lot of experience creating colors in our labs and now we are able to digitize them and create photo-realistic digital reproductions. For our customers, it means the color decision process will become easier, faster and much more effective. They can also use the data for their own brand-specific car configurators so that car buyers can experience automotive colors in their entire variety which supports their buying decision,” said Krzysztof Patryk Stolarzewicz, head of Global Strategic Marketing at BASF’s Coatings division.

In the startup phase, BASF’s virtual color solution will first be introduced to OEMs in EMEA. In addition to the digital platform, the customers will have the chance to experience the technology at AUROOM’s “analog twin” – a specially designed showroom at the Color Design Studio Europe in Münster, Germany. To demonstrate the colors and effects in the most authentic way possible, BASF also developed special virtual 3-D car shapes. Like BASF’s iconic dome shape, the virtual shapes simulate various forms of a car body. In order to assess compatibility of color with the overall design concept, OEM designers can choose shapes of different vehicle segments in AUROOM for color visualization.

 

About BASF’s Coatings division

The Coatings division of BASF is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings, decorative paints as well as applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries. The portfolio is completed by the “Innovation Beyond Paint” program which aims at developing new markets and businesses. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. BASF shares skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific. In 2017, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about €3.97 billion.

Solutions beyond your imagination – Coatings by BASF. For more information about the Coatings division of BASF and its products, visit www.basf-coatings.com.

 

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into four segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of more than €60 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.

 

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