Looking forward to the rolling of driverless cars that will make everyone a passenger, Holoride announced its level-up entertainment through a virtual reality system. This will be introduced beginning with a series production of Audi sedans and SUVs, which shall be launched this June. This news was announced by Holoride on Saturday during the SXSW tech, music and film conference in Austin.
With this new entertainment system, the back seat passengers’ physical reality is connected to augmented reality for a motion-synchronized journey. Holoride teamed up with Terranet, a Swedish ADAS software development company, to make this possible through the VoxelFlow system. This system accurately captures and makes sense of the physical environment. Then, using the data obtained from the vehicle, the system computes the VR movement.
This introduces a new media category which Holoride calls Elastic Content. The VR system adjusts to the car’s acceleration, turns, and brakes so the VR journey is in sync with the car’s movements- regardless of the content that the user may be operating behind the VR headset.
As they journey through virtual reality, users could even collect NFTs, supported by Eldrond’s blockchain. Further, just like Pokemon Go, virtual reality could also be connected with places in the physical environment through location-based games.
Automotive AR, VR market to reach $674 million
The introduction of this in-car AR and VR entertainment opens many opportunities in the global automotive market.
First and foremost, this system is brand agnostic. As such, other automakers could support it. The software used to create the VR content is open-source, making content creation possible among developers.
In fact, the Allied Market Research projects that the automotive AR and VR market worldwide could reach $674 million by 2025. While the only additional expense for this level-up entertainment to date is the headset, the potential is more extensive. Carmakers and developers have a lot of opportunities to explore to generate revenue from car owners. For instance, they could sell subscription services or charge users for special features.
Step toward driverless car rides
The introduction of VR entertainment and content for cars provides a glimpse of the future of rides, especially once driverless cars start rolling in. Holoride says that once these driverless cars start hitting the road, everyone will become a passenger.
This VR entertainment is just the first step in developing content that passengers may consume when this happens. Holoride and Audi intend to make an early claim in the tech stack of these autonomous cars.
Motion sickness is, of course, a concern. However, the symptoms could be reduced by synching the VR with the car’s movements, according to Holoride.
The Munich-based company introduced a prototype of the VR system in 2019 and took some reporters for a ride around Las Vegas Motor Speedway (with VR content that was developed with Disney and other partners). Some reporters were dizzy, although others felt all right.
