Audi is to become the first automobile manufacturer to deploy virtual-reality entertainment in its vehicles, using a system developed by Holoride. Beginning this summer, back-seat passengers will be able to use virtual-reality glasses to consume various media formats including games, movies and interactive content.
Holoride’s USP is that the virtual content adapts to the driving movements of the car in real time. For example, if the car is taking a right turn, the spaceship in the imaginary world will also fly to the right. If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up too
With this approach, the Munich-based startup has established a media category that it calls Elastic Content – content that adapts to driving movements, journey time and driving route. The result is claimed to be an immersive experience with a previously unknown level of quality.
Starting with select vehicles produced from June 2022, Audi models with the latest upgrade of the modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3) will be Holoride-capable.
Holoride hopes that, in the future, the progressive automation of travel by car will not only make new forms of entertainment possible while driving but will also open up increased opportunities to learn and work on the road. When drivers eventually no longer have to concentrate on driving, they can turn their attention to other things – work, reading, watching movies or gaming. The motion-synchronized approach taken by Holoride may also be able to reduce the common phenomenon of motion sickness often experienced by passengers reading a book or enjoying audio-visual media on electronic devices such as tablets.
