Audi uses AI technology for the first time, called FelGAN to design new wheels for its vehicles. FelGAN combines the German word ‘rim,’ which is a wheel (felge), and GAN, which stands for Generative Adversarial Networks. GANs are a type of deep learning method that uses two algorithms to compete as opponents during the training stage.
However, Audi is not replacing their wheel designers with machines but using an AI-enabled tech, FelGAN, to take inspiration from the wheels designed by the AI technology and later build wheels in plastic or aluminum, using a high-tech milling machine. Audi will not be changing the shape of the rim. They will keep rims in a circular shape but change their design by using AI.
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In the FelGAN, one of the algorithms acts like a generator that creates AI images of the vehicle’s rim. In comparison, another algorithm works like a discriminator that analyzes real and AI-generated images of the vehicle’s rim. This process is repeated continuously till the training phase is completed. After the training phase, the generator’s images are so real that even a human eye can hardly distinguish them from real images.
Head of Machine Learning and Data Science at Audi, Thomas Knispel, stated that data brings immense value for companies and their employees in the modern age. Audi is committed to becoming a data-driven company and using AI technology in many departments. An AI rating system is currently being developed at Audi, which can check the carbon balance of each rim generated by FelGAN.
