An algorithm controls motor vehicle shape in virtual wind tunnel 

Automotive manufacturers use wind tunnels to test the aerodynamics – and thus the gas efficiency – of their new vehicle models. Engineers today also use virtual wind tunnels during the early stages of design conception. With a virtual wind tunnel, computer software calculates how the components on the vehicle must be changed in order to make it more aerodynamic. The software, however, often takes the goal of improving the aerodynamics of a vehicle to such an extreme that it becomes so misshapen that a normal engine no longer fits inside the car. Researchers at the Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) at Bielefeld University have developed an algorithm to prevent this from happening. Their research findings are now appearing in the respected journal Computer Aided Design.[Weiterlesen]