The brand with the four rings returns to Las Vegas with a customer solution of the holoride prototype from 2019 Exclusive preview of the game “Pixel Ripped 1995: On The Road” Audi will be represented at the CARIAD pavilion
The brand with the four rings has delivered. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Audi announced it would transform its vehicles into an experience platform for virtual reality (VR). Selected models have been “holoride-ready” since the summer. Audi will return to CES Las Vegas from January 4 to 6, 2023, to offer media professionals and trade show visitors current content and a new VR game through “experience rides”. Following the launch in Germany, the VR entertainment offering will become available in other European markets next year.
Audi is the first car manufacturer in the world to bring virtual reality entertainment by holoride to series production. At CES 2023, visitors can experience rides in the rear of an Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback. The Audi Hub at the Waldorf Astoria will be their starting point. Behind holoride is a new technology that adapts the virtual content to the car’s driving movements in real time. For example, if the vehicle takes a right turn, the spaceship in the virtual world will also fly to the right. If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up, meaning a ride in the car becomes a multimodal gaming event. An added bonus is that by synchronizing the user’s visual and felt experiences, holoride reduces the risk of motion sickness, which many passengers experience when watching movies or other dynamic content in a moving car. In-car entertainment redefined Audi initiated the development of this innovative VR or XR (extended reality) technology for backseat passengers, presenting it for the first time at CES 2019. The novel form of entertainment received numerous trade show awards.
By leveraging real-time motion data from the vehicle combined with dynamic content, the Pioneers’ Pack turns cars into mobile theme parks
holoride, pioneer of extended reality in-vehicle entertainment, today announced the release of its game-changing platform in Germany. Coming to select Audi vehicles* in mid-November, the add-on package combines a high-end VR space with a moving car to create an experience that is like nothing before. Passengers will be whisked off into a variety of games and apps that all use live ride info to bring content to life in a completely new media paradigm, dubbed “Elastic Content.”
Combining the immersive qualities of virtual reality with real-time vehicle data, holoride is an always-in-motion virtual space, or Motorverse, where riders can enjoy interactive and passive content that reacts to both them and the motion of the car. “Despite amazing advances in automotive technology over the last few decades, passenger experience and in-car entertainment has remained largely the same,” said Nils Wollny, CEO and co-founder at holoride. “With the introduction of holoride, we are not only elevating that stale experience; we are redefining how you spend your time on the go. I couldn’t be more excited for riders to finally enjoy the thrills of the Motorverse for themselves.” The integration of holoride into Audi select series vehicles is a continuation of holoride’s shared history with the German premium auto manufacturer. Since 2019, both Audi and holoride have showcased their ongoing partnership on different occasions, including CES 2019, IAA Mobility 2021, and SXSW 2022, where holoride’s vehicle integration with Audi was officially announced. "By integrating holoride in our models, we're redefining in-car entertainment," said Giorgio Delucchi, Head of Digital Experience/Business at Audi. "Through combining real-time vehicle data and virtual content, we're creating an entirely new customer experience.
All About Bits & Pretzels This year, many more experts and scientists will be on Audi’s stage – including holoride CEO Nils Wollny, nunam co-founder Prodip Chatterjee, and Prof. Lutz Fügener, Professor of Transportation Design at Hof University of Applied Sciences. Since 2014, Bits & Pretzels has brought together founders, startup enthusiasts, and investors. The full program is available on the organizers’ website.
At the same time, there are VR glasses in the armrests on the left and right doors that can be used in conjunction with infotainment options – for instance for the Holoride system. Sustainability as a guiding principle Many of the materials in the interior of the Audi urbansphere concept, such as the hornbeam veneers, come from sustainable sources. This choice of material makes it possible to use wood that has grown close to the site, and the entire trunk can be utilized. No chemicals are used during the manufacturing process. The seat padding is made of ECONYL®, a recycled polyamide. This material can also be recycled after its use in the automobile – without any loss of quality. The fact that the respective materials are installed separately also plays an important role in the ability to recycle them, as mixing them would drastically reduce the potential for recycling. Bamboo viscose fabric is used in the armrests and in the rear of the vehicle. Bamboo grows faster than ordinary wood, sequesters a great deal of carbon, and doesn’t require herbicides or pesticides to grow. Space concept for the luxury class – exterior design A grand, undoubtedly self-assured appearance – the Audi urbansphere concept is certain to leave a lasting first impression. A length of 5.5 meters (18 feet), height of almost 1.78 meters (5.8 feet), and width of more than two meters (6.6 feet) are undoubtedly prestigious enough to rub shoulders with the automotive elite.
Audi vehicles with the MIB 3 infotainment system will be holoride-capable from June 2022 Experience drives by the startup holoride with Audi at the South by Southwest music, film and tech festival New technology merges virtual-reality content with driving movements in real time
Audi is the first automobile manufacturer in the world to bring virtual-reality entertainment from holoride into series production. Beginning this summer, back seat passengers can put on virtual reality glasses (VR glasses)* and immerse themselves in various media formats such as games, films and interactive content. The main attraction: The virtual content adapts to the driving movements of the car in real time. From June 2022, Audi models with the latest upgrade of the modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3) will be holoride-capable. The new technology will be introduced at the South by Southwest® (SXSW) festival in the United States. Visitors there will be able to experience holoride in a moving vehicle.
In the future, passengers will be able to use the time on the way from point A to point B for a thrilling game experience. From June 2022, passengers in the back seat of an Audi will experience films, video games and interactive content much more realistically using VR glasses. A car ride will become a multimodal gaming event. The technology will be introduced at the South by Southwest® (SXSW) music, film and tech festival in Austin, Texas, and visitors will be able to take drives in the back seats of fully electric Audi vehicles. holoride is closely associated with South by Southwest, and won the prestigious SXSW Pitch 2021 in the category “Entertainment, Gaming & Content” as well as the “Best in Show” award. holoride creates immersive experiences Behind holoride there is a technology that adapts virtual content to the car’s driving movements 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.
One example of this is the integration of holoride, which Audi is using to turn the car into an experience space with in-car entertainment. This virtual-reality-based entertainment offering will launch this summer. Audi will submit to an ESG rating in the future Audi is convinced that a sustainable business model should be measured not only by ecological criteria, but also by the perception of its social responsibility and its good corporate governance. The company consequently defined ESG as a strategic field of action in Vorsprung 2030, and it’s embedding ESG criteria in all company- and product-related decisions. The foundation for this is a robust ESG management system. For more comparability and transparency, Audi will not only voluntarily report in accordance with the new EU taxonomy regulation – it will also submit to the ESG rating of an independent rating agency in the future. Rittersberger: “We want to be outstanding when it comes to ESG performance as well. Sustainability being anchored in all business divisions will make Audi robust and fit for the future, and it will increase our company value. It’s about nothing less than our ‘license to thrive’.” Overview of select key figures of the Audi Group 2021 2020 Deliveries Audi brand 1,680,512 1,692,773 Revenue Audi Group in millions of euros 53,068 49,973 Operating profit before special factors Audi Group in millions of euros 5,546 2,739 Operating return on sales before special factors Audi Group in percent 10.5 5.5 Operating profit Audi Group in millions of euros 5,498 2,569 Operating return on sales Audi Group in percent 10.4 5.1 Net cash flow Audi Group in millions of euros 7,757 4,589 Net liquidity Audi Group in millions of euros 22,674 22,377 Return on investment (ROI) Audi Group in percent 16.7 7.4 Further information, as well as insights into fiscal year 2021 and sustainable management at Audi, can be found in the new Audi Report 2021.
New technology merges VR contents with driving movements in real time Showcase rides with new content demonstrate the potential of holoride Start-up visits leading game studios at California roadshow
Travel to virtual worlds from within an Audi is soon a possibility. In the near future, back seat passengers can put on virtual reality (VR) glasses* to dive into games, movies, and presentations. The clou: The virtual content adapts to the driving movements of the car in real time. At a roadshow in California, holoride visited potential game studios to excite the best content suppliers about the start-up’s new technology.
Start-up holoride wants to make car rides a multimodal experience. In the future, passengers on the back seat can use VR glasses to experience movies, video games, and interactive content much more realistic than today. This is made possible by a new technology that adapts the virtual contents in real time to the vehicle’s driving movements: if the car is taking a right curve, the spaceship in the imaginary world will also fly to the right, as an example. If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up too. Initiated by Audi, development of this innovative VR or XR (extended reality) technology is being advanced and commercialized for different manufacturers by tech entertainment start-up holoride. The motion-synchronized voyage through virtual worlds also reduces the common phenomenon of car sickness often experienced by passengers reading a book or enjoying audiovisual media on electronic tablets. holoride creates new media category: “Elastic content” A platform to enable content developers to create additional extended reality formats, holoride published the so-called Elastic Software Development Kit (SDK) on its privately developed and newly launched holoride Creator Space. The Elastic SDK was developed for the Unity game engine and allows developers to access tools to create immersive gaming experiences and entertainment formats.
At the same time, there are VR glasses in the armrests on the left and right doors that can be used in conjunction with infotainment options – for instance for the holoride system. Dynamic monolith – the exterior design At 5.35 m (17.6 ft.) long, 2 m (6.6 ft.) wide, and 1.39 m (4.6 ft.) high, the Audi grandsphere concept’s measurements reveal this sedan as an unambiguous example of the luxury class automobile. The 3.19 m (10.5 ft.) wheelbase indicates top value, which even overshadows the long version of the current Audi A8. But even more striking than what these figures suggest is the visual impression that it makes upon seeing it for the first time. That is because the Audi grandsphere looks nothing like a traditional sedan, but rather more like a tightly drawn four-door GT with a line the comes straight from the wind tunnel. And it does that while doing without any decor or superfluous flourishes. In the process, the Audi grandsphere consistently implements the specific conditions of the electric drive system right in the front end – a short overhang, a flat hood, and the windshield that projects far forward as the foremost limit of the large interior. Nonetheless, unlike many electric cars, it does not look futuristic at all, but rather emphasizes traditional beauty ideals. The top edge of the hood is drawn far into the side of the chassis in a horizontal line, suggesting a long engine compartment – all characteristics of a GT. In the rear, that line continues at the same height across the rear wheel well, encompassing the whole cabin and emphasizing its size. A second horizontal line emanates from the bottom edge of the hood and runs under the side windows and likewise around the entire cabin. This subdivides the door surfaces into horizontally oriented shoulders and the convex verticals below them above the rocker panel. The wheel wells have a soft, yet distinctive shape – typical Audi.