Carmakers Looking at VR to Kill Boredom in Autonomous Vehicles

Leading global automakers are considering a new means of fighting boredom for drivers of autonomous vehicles.

Audi and Nissan are hoping virtual reality experiences would be enough to help keep drivers and passengers of self-driving cars entertained while on the road.

“Once customers do not need to drive anymore… then the question is what kind of things can we offer to customers inside this car,” said Boris Meiners, senior director of Audi’s Digital Business and Customer Experience in China.

Among the new technologies being developed by Audi is a virtual reality experience created by the startup holoride it is co-founding.

The technology can turn road trips into adventures in virtual reality and allow passengers to, for example, swim with whales and discover sunken ships in the sea while in the self-driving car.

As the car moves and accelerates, or steers sideways, the movements are simultaneously logged by a computer installed in the car’s trunk. It then adjusts the passenger’s view in the VR goggles accordingly. The technology can also prevent passengers from experiencing motion sickness in the process.

Nissan, for its part, recently showcased a set of goggles that could deliver real-time information and project a talking cartoon character, which communicates with the one wearing it.

According to Tetsuro Ueda, expert leader at Nissan’s Research Center, the brand’s goal is to “fulfill people’s emotional needs.”

“Rather than the driver, we want to focus on the riding experience for all passengers, including the driver. Because when it comes to the stage of autonomous driving, the driver’s control is less and less, and the interaction with the surrounding passengers is increasing,” Ueda said.

While recent studies show that it may take time for the general public to start riding in fully autonomous vehicles, companies that are already in the industry have begun investing in technologies in anticipation of the shift.

Whether these technologies will be made available in the U.S. market in the near or remote future is yet to be determined.