Riding in the back seat of an Audi just got a whole lot cooler. The German luxury brand is the first automobile manufacturer in the world to bring virtual-reality entertainment to the backseat of its models with the Audi holoride virtual technology.
This means that your passengers can put on virtual reality glasses and immerse themselves in various media formats – from games and films thanks to interactive content from the Audi holoride virtual technology.
The holoride system also meshes backseat passengers’ physical world with augmented reality for a motion-synchronized journey as the car moves.
The Audi holoride virtual technology system is “brand-agnostic”, which means other automakers can support it, too. But Audi is the first.
It’s out of this world
According to Audi, the main attraction is virtual content that synchronizes with the driving movements of the car in real time so your passengers can feel like they are zooming through space Dr. Spock style.
Beginning with select vehicles produced in June 2022, Audi models with the latest upgrade of the modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3) will be holoride-capable and ready to go.
The new technology feature was first introduced at the South by Southwest® (SXSW) festival in the U.S. Lucky attendees at the festival were able to experience holoride in a moving vehicle. All of this emphasizes that passengers can use their time on a road trip – short or long – to enjoy a thrilling game experience.
Passengers can experience films, video games, and interactive content much more realistically using VR glasses.
A car ride can, in fact, become a multimodal gaming event for your loved ones as they travel to that family reunion in Iowa.
More innovation from Audi: Check out the Audi Virtual Cockpit
Holoride creates immersive experiences
Within the Audi holoride virtual technology there is a technology that adapts virtual content to the car’s driving movements in real time.
This is an example of how it works.
- If the car is turning right, a spaceship in the virtual world will also fly to the right.
- If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up too.
Though it was initiated by Audi, the development of this innovative VR or XR (extended reality) technology is now being advanced and sold to different manufacturers holoride, which is based in Munich. The German startup has established an entirely new media category that they call “Elastic Content” – which is content that adapts to driving movements, journey time, and driving route, according to the company.
The result is an immersive experience for passengers like no other.
And a large number of Audi models are now holoride-capable.
Namely: Those models that roll off the line with the third generation modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3) and the latest software cluster will be holoride-capable.
Including: Audi A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Audi Q5, Q7, Q8, Audi e-tron* and Audi e-tron GT quattro.
These Audi models are capable of utilizing holoride in the United States market as well as those in Europe, China, Japan, and Canada.
But the availability of holoride itself will depend on the individual market. The new startup technology is expected to launch in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. market.
Other markets will follow successively.
To use holoride, a virtual reality headset that has been enabled to the technology must be connected to the vehicle. The connection is created wirelessly via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
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The history of the Audi holoride virtual technology, according to Audi:
2019
Holoride was first presented at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. In cooperation with Disney Games and Interactive Experiences, holoride implemented a VR game experience from the Marvel Universe for cars.
2021
During a roadshow through California from Los Angeles to San Francisco holoride visited other production and game studios to demonstrate the technology’s possibilities to potential partners. The same year, visitors to IAA 2021 in Munich were among the first to take demo rides with holoride as were visitors at the Salzburg Festival.
2022
Audi launches the first holoride-enabled vehicles.
According to Audi, in the future, the progressive automation of travel by car will not only make new forms of entertainment possible while driving – it will also open up increased opportunities to learn and work on the road.
The Audi holoride virtual technology is intended for drivers eventually!
As technology for self-driving cars progresses and drivers no longer have to concentrate on driving in the future, they can turn their attention to other things – work, reading, watching films, or gaming.
According to Audi:
“The motion-synchronized voyage through virtual worlds with holoride may also be able to reduce the common phenomenon of motion sickness often experienced by passengers reading a book or enjoying audiovisual media on electronic devices such as tablets.
For users, the interior will become their personal free space, and for designers, it will become the new design center. After all, the design process begins with the question: who will be sitting in a new model, and what will people want to do there? In the future, designers will no longer design cars from the outside in, but from the inside out – and therefore customers will literally become the center of attention.”
Get the most out of the Audi holoride virtual technology by shopping the cars that have it. Check out our latest Audi inventory below.
