Experience technology

Audi City turns buying a car into an experience even before the first test drive. Visitors can configure their dream car themselves on so-called multi-touch tables. These are tables with large monitors that display the entire spectrum of the Audi model line-up in HD quality. As on a tablet PC, customers can surf menus with finger gestures and investigate all the possible options themselves.

Once they have selected an Audi with their preferred configuration, they can transfer it to the full-size powerwall with one simple gesture and experience the car in 1:1 scale. The walls in Audi City are covered with several powerwalls, while the dynamic acoustic system ensures that the sounds heard in front of the wall in question ? engine sound, special music or spoken information ? suit the selected car and the displayed content.

In front of the powerwall, the customer can control the image and menu navigation using gestures or steps, because his movements in this area are captured on camera. An avatar, in the form of a person symbol on the powerwall, helps the customer to learn quickly the most important movements. Visitors now have previously unheard-of presentation options: they can turn the car on the powerwall through 360 degrees, have it drive through virtual landscapes, and examine its interior. At the same time, visitors with a particular interest in technology can take a closer look at the world of Audi engineers via detail animations and info-trailers. It also offers a concrete way to experience the fields of innovation Audi e-tron, ultra and connect. All of these services are available for the entire Audi line-up.

The individual powerwalls in an Audi City can be combined to create a huge screen ? enabling amazing presentations of, for instance, Audi?s motorsport activities, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its simultaneous transmission at the international Audi City locations can provide the opportunity for special events in these metropolitan stores. Furthermore, the networked technology of Audi City means that visitors will, in future, be able to enter into dialogue with each other, and with Audi experts, via video walls at all locations worldwide.

Audi City combines an impressive array of information with exceptional brand experiences, and offers the right mix for an extremely diverse range of needs. Visitors can surf the Audi world at multi-touch tables and powerwalls out of simple curiosity, they can gather detailed information on their perfect car, or satisfy a specific desire to purchase by configuring an individual model. The people who work at Audi City are there as advisers and consultants ? be it to explain the digital experience, provide information on equipment options and technologies, or to work with customers to schedule a production order for their car.

During personal consultation, the customer and sales adviser can withdraw to a separate space (Customer Private Lounge) that is also equipped with a multi-touch table and a powerwall. Moreover, the customer can also have his preferred vehicle configuration saved on a USB stick with RFID function (RFID = radio frequency identification), the so-called Audi Key; in parallel, he can also receive a paper print-out. This allows him to take his personal selection home with him to work on it there.

Plus, it enables the seamless intermeshing of the online and real world, because the next time the customer visits Audi City ? or another Audi dealership ? readers at the multi-touch tables will recognise the customer?s current preferred configuration. During consultation, the sales adviser will then be able to immediately use this information, saving time and improving the quality of consultation.

Despite all the benefits of these virtual techniques, there are still some characteristics of a car that can still only be grasped and evaluated by one?s own senses ? especially when it concerns quality and feel. Every Audi City is therefore equipped with a large table of fabric, leather and paint samples; in the Customer Private Lounges, these exhibits also have RFID codes. Thus, if the customer wishes to select a different piece of equipment or colour, a simple scan of the associated code is enough to integrate this automatically into the digital configuration on the powerwall.