• BMW and Meta have partnered to explore ways in which AR and VR can be integrated into smart vehicles.
• The companies demonstrated the ability to accurately display stable virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) content in a fast-moving car.
• The technology could revolutionize travel, unlocking new forms of hands-free communication, entertainment, and utility.
Partnership Between BMW and Meta
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta and German car giant BMW have announced their joint exploration of how augmented and virtual reality technology can work inside a fast-moving vehicle. The BMW Group Technology Office USA and Meta’s Reality Labs Research showed they are able to accurately display stable virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) content to passengers in a fast-moving car, even when making turns, going over speed bumps, or accelerating.
Exploring Passenger Experience
The goal of this research is to explore the ways in which AR and VR could be integrated into smart vehicles in order to improve the „passenger experience,“ Meta’s announcement said. Claus Dorrer, Head of BMW Group Technology Office USA in Mountain View stated that if this technology works correctly it could revolutionize travel in cars, trains, planes and beyond with new forms of hands-free communication, entertainment, as well as utility that could give us more value than current screens or instruments we see today inside most vehicles.
Problem with Movement
The issue the companies‘ goal was facing is that the number of sensors inside VR headsets work to estimate its user’s location but when it comes to a moving vehicle these sensors face a conflict because its motion sensors think it is moving but its cameras think it is standing still when looking at the car’s interior. To solve this problem they incorporated IMU data from a BMW car’s sensor array into the tracking system of their Project Aria research glasses. This gives them information about the glasses location relative to the car allowing for accurate motion tracking even when moving quickly through different directions like turns or bumps on the road.
Revolutionizing Travel
If successful this technology would revolutionize travel by giving us far more value than current screens or instruments we see today inside most vehicles while also providing information such as hazards on roads without having your eyes off of what’s ahead during transit. This technology could open up new possibilities for transportation as well as opening up new forms of communication while traveling without actually needing your hands free.
Conclusion
In conclusion BMW Group Technology Office USA head Claus Dorrer believes that there are potential use cases for XR devices in vehicles such as assisting drivers find their cars easily within crowded parking lots or alerting them quickly about dangers on roads while providing important information about their vehicle condition all without taking away from focus driving safely on roads during transit .