Porsche and the entertainment technology startup holoride are piloting a new location-based virtual reality drive at the Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles.
Following a series of successful joint projects, this is holoride’s first commercial installation of the technology that it says ‘aims to change backseat entertainment’. The pilot programme at the Porsche Experience Center (PEC) in Los Angeles will assess customer demand and technical stability as a prelude to a potential roll-out to other PECs worldwide.
Holoride claims that by connecting real-time physical feedback inside a moving vehicle to content in a VR headset, passengers will be taken on a fully-immersive journey through outer space as they fly a spaceship, including sound effects and visuals that adapt to the movement of the car.
To make this possible, holoride uses driving data from a Porsche Cayenne, such as steering, accelerating and braking, to adapt the experience to match the movement of the car. This unique approach enables motion sickness to be reduced by matching what passengers see and feel with almost no latency.
“Porsche stands for emotional and dynamic customer experiences and the joint pilot with holoride is a great teaser for how these experiences can be translated to a digital future,” says Zabih Aria, Director, Strategy and Digital Business, at Porsche Cars North America. “The new installation in our Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles is the next step in our partnership, which we intend to continue in the future.”
The Cosmic Chase game
The experience itself features an original game, Cosmic Chase, developed jointly with Schell Games, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Passengers will find themselves aboard a spaceship around a group of recruits that form the Earth Alliance, tasked with fighting off the alien Cymex.
“We are collaborating with Porsche Cars North America to give passengers the thrill of a high-speed ride, combined with a highly-immersive VR experience,” says Nils Wollny, CEO and co-founder of holoride. “We are excited to offer a new type of attraction to automotive and entertainment-savvy audiences in the greater Los Angeles area. This attraction is a perfect example of how automotive experience centers are transforming into exciting destinations that the whole family can enjoy and where no one is left out.”
With this first commercial instalment, holoride is one step closer to making its technology accessible for a broader audience. The cooperation between Porsche and holoride started in 2019 as part of Startup Autobahn, Europe’s biggest innovation platform.