Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced that the Canon MREAL System for Mixed Reality has been chosen by Embraer North America to strategically leverage engineering and design activities for the production of next-generation aircraft. By combining the rich, visual information of the real world and the flexibility offered by computer-generated images, the Canon MREAL System for Mixed Reality will provide Embraer engineers with the necessary solution to explore aircraft designs in life-size scale and in three dimensions.

"Embraer has been using virtual reality in Brazil to create digital prototypes and evaluate designs since 2000," says Humberto Pereira, vice president, Engineering and Technology, Embraer. "But our engineers in the U.S. will enjoy the next phase of this philosophy, using the Canon MREAL System for Mixed Reality to provide a more interactive, immersive and flexible experience."

With the help of the MREAL System, aviation designs can now be examined, modified, manipulated, analyzed and presented with a level of realism that allows complex ideas and plans to quickly come to fruition.

“We are incredibly honored and excited to join Embraer in establishing the future of Mixed Reality technology, demonstrating the ways in which engineering and design can be achieved,” said Junichi Yoshitake, senior vice president and general manager of Business Imaging Solutions, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “This new relationship is validation of how the Canon MREAL system can unlock new possibilities and help the aerospace industry to implement efficient workflows for the design and development of tomorrow.”

The Canon MREAL technology will be a centerpiece of the new Embraer Engineering and Technology Center in Melbourne, Florida. This state of the art facility was built with a $24 million investment from Space Florida, the aerospace and spaceport development authority of the State of Florida, developed for the purposes of fostering the growth and development of a sustainable and world-leading space industry in Florida. Equipped with forward-thinking technologies, the new technology center will enable Embraer to transform the way they work, manufacture, engineer and drive the future of aircraft design.