Virtual reality gets on board with holoride
Audi is looking to the future of car travels with holoride, a start-up specialised in virtual reality which is developing an innovative onboard entertainment system.
Boredom during long car journeys will soon be no more than a bad memory, because Audis – or more specifically their backseats – are turning into dedicated entertainment areas. The German car manufacturer and start-up holoride are developing a virtual reality system for back passengers, and they presented the concept at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The prototype displayed in Nevada allows users to enjoy an interactive superhero experience, entitled “Marvel’s Avengers: Rocket’s Rescue Run”.
A space journey
You only need to put on the VR headset to command a spacecraft first hand and experience epic intergalactic battles. But this is not a simple virtual reality experience: the scenario changes and adapts to the actual movements of the vehicle during the journey. A left-hand bend in reality corresponds to the space ship veering left in the virtual reality scenario, lending a degree of realism never before experienced in this form of entertainment. A completely immersive experience, optimised by the virtual silence of the ride of the Audi e-tron – the platform on which this system has been implemented – thanks to its whisper-quiet electric motor.
The virtual connected to the real
All this is possible because the virtual reality glasses are directly connected to the car and managed by a series of intelligent algorithms able to synchronise the virtual world with the movements of the vehicle. The developers use data points derived from autonomous driving algorithms: information such as position, speed, control, braking and acceleration. The software also takes data from the navigation system into account and adjusts the length of the game to the expected driving time, giving rise to what is known as “Elastic Content”.
Entertainment for everyone
Another advantage of this kind of entertainment is that it helps to prevent the car sickness caused, for example, by reading when the car ismoving. The possibilities for applying this technology are almost limitless: not just videogames, but also interactive documentaries or guided visits to parks and cities, and even a voyage through the human body.
holoride was co-founded by Audi, but it is an independent company which follows an open approach and will make its technology available to all automotive manufacturers and digital content creators.
Source: AUDI Blog