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Audi to Merge Select Models With Virtual Reality Content Starting This Summer

Audi is looking to become the first carmaker to bring virtual reality entertainment into series production, aided by Munich-based startup, Holoride. Beginning this summer, backseat passengers will be able to put on a pair of VR glasses and experience various media formats such as games, movies and interactive content inside select Audi models.
Audi will merge MIB 3-equipped models with VR tech 11 photos
Photo: Audi
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What’s so special about that, you ask? Well, the virtual content will adapt to the driving movements of the car in real time, which opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities. The only catch is that you’ll need an Audi model equipped with the brand’s latest MIB 3 infotainment system (June 2022 and beyond), otherwise, the car won’t be holoride-capable.

Audi wants us to picture a future where passengers can use their time on the way from point A to point B to experience certain virtual thrills, thus transforming a simple car ride into a multimodal gaming event. The tech itself will be introduced at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music, film and tech festival in Austin, Texas, where visitors will be able to take drives in the back seats of fully electric Audi models.

Picture this: if the car is taking a right turn and you have your VR glasses on, you might see a spaceship that will also fly to the right. If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up too. This, by the way, could also reduce the common phenomenon of motion sickness, often experienced by passengers (especially in the rear seats).

As for which models will be holoride-capable come June of this year, you’re looking at the Audi A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Q5, Q7 and Q8, plus the e-tron and e-tron GT quattro. The tech will be operational not only in Europe, but also in Canada, the United States, Japan and China.

In order to use ‘holoride’, you’ll have to first pair the virtual reality headset with your Audi vehicle, which you’ll be able to do wirelessly via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
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Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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