Case study: MAN Engines

About the project:

MAN SE, is a German mechanical engineering company and parent company of the MAN Group. It is a subsidiary of automaker Volkswagen AG.

Spearhead Interactive were commissioned to create and deliver an interactive companion app for the marine engine side of their business; including an Augmented Reality V12 1900cc Marine Engine to be used at the Southampton Boat Show in 2014.

Through the AR deployment, MAN received a 300% increase in enquiries at their stand; visitors were enquiring with manufacturers whether they used MAN engines in their vessels; and MAN saved more money in transport and logistics for one engine at one show then the total cost of the app and deployment. This solution was later deployed at the Miami Boat Show, Cairns, and a number of shows in China, with repeated savings on each occasion.

MAN removed public access to this app in Q1 2018.

Key Features:

TRADITIONAL APP UI

The MAN Motor Yacht Engine Guide was created using a real-time 3D engine, however we customised the UI to look and function in the same way to a traditional mobile application.

This allows us to include all of the functionality traditionally associated with a regular app, whilst also allowing the seamless integration of real-time 3D content.

MARINE ENGINE GUIDE

A complete list of all marine engines manufactured by MAN is available within the engine guide. Users can interrogate each engine and obtain information on the Technical Specifications and Dimensions, or view procedurally generated graphs showing Power & Torque or Fuel Consumption for each engine.

INTERACTIVE SERVICE GLOBE

MAN wanted a way to show and link contact information for all 300 service centre locations located around the world, so we provided a context for this data using an interactive 3D globe.

Rather than using Google Maps or a similar service, we scripted longitude and latitude functionality onto a sphere and textured this with an image from NASA. This model was then tied to a database of locations; with the co-ordinates overlaid onto the globe as a series of interactive hotspots.

Users can spin and zoom in on the globe freely and tap any of the hotspots to access the desired information; however we have also included functionality to search the map by country, by dealer, or by using the GPS co-ordinate of the users device.

AUGMENTED REALITY ENGINE

Using an image recognition system and a 3D model of a V12 1900cc marine engine, Spearhead Interactive added an Augmented Reality component to the app.

Used primarily for boat and engine shows, users would point tablets and smartphones running the app at the trigger image for the software. This then displays a full size replica of the marine engine for users to walk around and interrogate; with rotation and dimensions overlays providing additional ways to interact with the model.

MAN produced coasters as take-aways for attendees containing a QR code to download the app on one side, and the trigger image on the other, enabling each visitor to their stand to leave with a free engine.

DEALER LOGIN & FUEL CALCULATOR

Providing tools for partners and their customers, dealers are able to log-in to their own unique, branded area of the app in order to access a dynamic fuel calculator alongside other dealer-specific features.

This calculator informs the buyer of the expected fuel consumption and range for a particular vessel based on the MAN engine choice and the speed of travel.

WARRANTY AND APP INFORMATION

Additional information and graphics alongside privacy policies and legal notices are easily integrated into the framework and accessible by the user.