Transforming 3D asset management at BMW Group with Unity

Image: Unity Asset Manager is streamlining workflows across all BMW Group business units—including design, engineering, and marketing.

Managing 3D assets for an organization as large and complex as BMW Group is no easy task. With countless design, engineering, and marketing teams spread across the globe, ensuring these assets are accessible, organized, and up-to-date is critical—but it’s also been a long-standing challenge.

Enter 3D Mine, a revolutionary 3D asset management platform powered by Unity Asset Manager. Designed to simplify workflows, foster collaboration, and enhance innovation, 3D Mine is redefining how 3D data is managed across departments.

This blog explores BMW Group’s vision for 3D Mine, the critical challenges it addresses, the technology behind it, and the outcomes they hope to achieve.

The vision of 3D Mine

BMW Group set out to build an ecosystem where teams could seamlessly access, share, and collaborate on accurate, up-to-date 3D data. The objectives were clear:

• Establish a centralized repository to reduce fragmentation.
• Improve data integrity by ensuring assets are accurate and up-to-date.
• Break down silos to enable cross-departmental collaboration.
• Drive efficiency and innovation by automating workflows and reducing redundancies.
• Create a scalable infrastructure to adapt to evolving business needs.

Addressing the challenges of decentralized asset management

BMW Group faced numerous challenges with its previous 3D data management processes:

• Scattered data: Vital 3D assets were stored across disparate systems.
• Version control issues: Without a unified system, tracking file versions and access rights was cumbersome, leading to errors and inefficiencies.
• Collaboration barriers: Internal firewalls and inconsistent file formats hindered teamwork between design, engineering, and marketing teams.
• Time and resource loss: Teams often spent hours recreating or searching for existing assets due to siloed systems.

The solution: 3D Mine

Watch BMW Group's 3D Mine presentation recorded at the Unity U/Day Munich - Automotive.

Unity partnered with BMW Group to create 3D Mine, a comprehensive 3D asset management platform. Built with Unity Asset Manager, 3D Mine is designed with core functionalities that address the specific needs of a global organization like BMW Group:

1. Centralized data storage

All 3D assets are stored in a single, accessible repository. With robust metadata tagging and version histories, teams can quickly locate the assets they need, eliminating the inefficiencies of scattered storage.

2. Seamless version control

Unity’s Version Control makes it easy to manage iterative development workflows. It ensures assets are linked directly to projects without duplication, while providing flexibility through branching capabilities.

3. Process automation

Automated pipelines prepare assets for various use cases, such as rendering high-poly models for design and low-poly versions for XR applications. This reduces reliance on manual data preparation and frees up valuable time.

4. Enhanced collaboration

Role-based permissions and a global access infrastructure allow teams across departments and geographies to share assets securely. Firewalls are no longer a barrier to collaboration.

5. Scalability and future-readiness

3D Mine is hosted on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), enabling it to scale seamlessly with BMW Group’s growing data needs. Its flexible architecture ensures it can adapt to new use cases and projects as they emerge.

Use-cases for rollout

BMW Group has identified two key use cases for the rollout of 3D Mine that will demonstrate its value across various departments:

Material library

Design teams rely on meticulously scanned and curated material assets, which are now stored in 3D Mine’s centralized repository. This enables secure and seamless sharing of materials, overcoming previous firewall issues.

Marketing

BMW’s marketing teams create comprehensive 3D models, known as “150% models,” containing every possible car configuration. With 3D Mine, these models are easily accessible for use in campaigns and virtual experiences. External agencies can also access the models securely through a custom frontend platform.

Unity’s role in empowering BMW Group

Unity’s technologies play a pivotal role in enabling BMW Group’s digital transformation. By leveraging Unity Asset Manager, BMW Group will be able to efficiently manage 3D assets while ensuring security through deployment on a virtual private cloud. The Unity Editor also supports the visualization and customization of assets, enhancing workflows for design, engineering, and marketing teams.

Unity’s scalable architecture ensures that 3D Mine will continue to meet the demands of BMW Group’s global operations.

Paving the way for a more efficient future

With 3D Mine, BMW Group is revolutionizing the way 3D assets are managed, setting a new standard for efficiency, collaboration, and innovation in the automotive industry. By addressing long-standing challenges and leveraging cutting-edge technology from Unity, BMW Group is not only enhancing day-to-day operations but also empowering its teams to innovate and thrive.

Explore Unity Asset Manager

BMW Group’s 3D Mine demonstrates how Unity’s solutions can drive meaningful change in large-scale businesses. To learn how Unity can empower your organization, connect with our team today.