Tag Archives: Virtual reality

Honda UNI-ONE wheelchair finds innovative use in VR worlds as extended reality mobility experience

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Honda introduced the UNI-ONE personal mobility chair for people with lower limb immobilization at the end of 2022. The Segway-like version for people who want an advanced electric wheelchair contraption with flexible movement capabilities will officially debut at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, next month, with a VR application twist.

The Japanese automaker will leverage the self-balancing personal mobility device (mostly intended for the disabled) for a seamless virtual reality world, which they are calling the “Honda Extended Reality (XR)” experience. The idea of fusing the real-world riding on the UNI-ONE with the virtual world environment sounds like a winning proposition, and Honda doesn’t want to let go of the opportunity.

Designer: Honda

The SXSW attendees will get the opportunity to get first-hand exposure to this unique VR experience from 10-13 March at Honda’s booth #729 at the SXSW Creative Industries Expo at the Austin Convention Center. This amalgam of two different technologies is directed towards solving the hardware limitation of a comprehensive metaverse reality that is otherwise only limited to the visual input and confined to a limited space. According to Hirokazu Hara, vice president of New Business Development, at American Honda Motor this will expand the “joy and freedom of personal mobility into entertainment applications.”

Hirokazu further added that the never-before thought of combination will elevate the multimodal immersive experience three-fold. The self-balancing tech dubbed Honda Omni Traction Drive System (HOT Drive System) and the advanced sensors on the 154 pounds UNI-ONE (permitting movement and tilt in any direction) will leverage a new VR and AR entertainment. This will shoot the extended reality technology and application development possibilities to another level, inducing the interest of early adopters more than ever before.

For instance, racing through a track on a virtual planet with lesser gravity than on Earth will be possible on a hands-free device capable of going at a top speed of 3.7 mph. The rig will combine the visual input from a VR headset and the freedom of movement to make the user feel as if racing on a real track in an alien landscape. The fact that Honda is vesting so much interest in this possibility with the UNI-ONE speaks a lot about how the future is going to pan out in the Metaverse world. According to Honda the extended reality (XR) technology will be perfect for malls, theme parks, or any other indoor or outdoor entertainment hubs with a lot of open space to move around.

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In-Car VR Entertainment Solutions that Promise to Eliminate Motion Sickness

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In-car entertainment is gaining importance given the substantial time people spend in vehicles, whether daily commutes, long-distance trips, or leisure journeys. This time can feel unproductive or monotonous, particularly for passengers. Additionally, extended travel can cause discomfort and motion sickness. Car motion sickness often arises from a mismatch between the motion perceived by the eyes and that sensed by the inner ear. This is particularly common when reading or focusing on a stationary object within a moving vehicle.

Designer: holoride

holoride aims to provide engaging in-car entertainment while addressing the common motion sickness problem. It does this through innovative virtual reality synchronized with the vehicle’s motion. By matching the virtual experiences with the car’s real-world movements, holoride creates a cohesive perception of motion. For example, the virtual environment reflects this movement if the vehicle turns. This helps the brain align visual and sensory inputs, reducing the conflict that often causes motion sickness.

The immersive experience of VR entertainment provided by holoride significantly distracts from the monotony or discomfort of travel. Passengers can immerse themselves in a virtual world that moves in sync with the car, transforming the travel experience into an engaging and enjoyable activity. This is especially beneficial on long journeys, where potential hours of boredom or discomfort can be converted into time spent exploring virtual landscapes, playing games, or engaging in other interactive VR experiences.

I first experienced Holoride’s technology at CES 2019. Audi drove me around the Las Vegas Speedway while I played a special demo created by Disney Games and Interactive Experiences. The experience gave me the impression that holoride was on the verge of revolutionizing in-car entertainment by integrating virtual reality (VR) with the car’s movements. The test system utilized Oculus Rift VR glasses, providing a uniquely immersive experience. The initial trial featured a game developed by Disney Games and Interactive Experiences, “Marvel’s Avengers: Rocket’s Rescue Run,” which I played in a virtual space as the car moved.

holoride’s technology uses the car’s telemetry data to sync the VR experience with real-time car movements, such as turns, acceleration, and braking, creating a seamless blend of the real and virtual worlds. This synchronization helps to minimize motion sickness, a common issue when using VR in a moving vehicle.

One of the exciting features of holoride is its adaptability. The duration of the VR experience can stretch or shrink to match the length of the car journey, making each ride a unique adventure. Beyond just entertainment, it can also offer educational experiences based on the journey’s location.

Though holoride was born within Audi, it’s not exclusive to the automaker and isn’t fully owned by Disney. The plan is to invite additional investors and open the platform to other content creators and automakers. It also has potential for use in autonomous vehicles, and the experience could be enriched by integrating data from the vehicle’s sensors.

In its early stages, holoride aims to enhance the passenger experience, transforming every car ride into a unique adventure. As the platform evolves and attracts more developers, the possibilities for in-car VR experiences are expected to expand significantly.

So, where’s holoride today? holoride, the Munich-based tech company, announced the release of its holoride retrofit device at CES 2023. This product is a compact device that turns any vehicle into a platform for extended reality entertainment. The company recognized as a 2023 CES Innovation Awards honoree, has made its mark in the industry by integrating virtual reality (VR) and real-time vehicle data.

The holoride retrofit device is about the same size as a typical smart speaker. It connects to a VR headset via Bluetooth and uses movement and location data to create adaptive virtual experiences that respond to a vehicle’s movements in real-time. This data-driven approach creates a dynamic experience that helps mitigate motion sickness.

Nils Wollny, CEO and co-founder of holoride said that the retrofit device brings them closer to their goal of making every vehicle a portal into holoride’s immersive world. “Any vehicle can serve as your gateway into holoride’s adaptive virtual experiences where each new ride becomes the blueprint for your next immersive adventure,” Wollny said.

In conjunction with the launch of the retrofit device, holoride also announced an addition to their content library. Subscribers will now have access to a new game, Pixel Ripped 1995: On the Road, from Emmy Award-winning studio ARVORE. The game takes place in a car during a family road trip and is available to all holoride subscribers.

The holoride retrofit device weighs less than half a pound and can be mounted on a vehicle’s windshield. It boasts a 14-hour battery life and can simultaneously connect to two headsets. The device is priced at $199, with a bundle option available for 699€/$, including a HTC VIVE Flow headset, and includes a 3-month holoride subscription and 3-month access to VIVEPORT Infinity Vista.

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Microsoft Mesh lets you hold virtual meetings around virtual bonfires

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The hype around the so-called Metaverse seems to have died down a bit. Even Facebook, which changed its name to Meta to emphasize its new mission, has been rather silent on that front, especially in light of AI being the hottest thing in tech these days. With the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, however, interest in mixed reality, as well as AR and VR, is once again on the rise. As such, now seems to be the best time for Microsoft to also make widely available its own virtual meeting platform, Microsoft Mesh, encouraging a new approach to hybrid work arrangements that will have attendees “sitting” around digital bonfires or posh virtual rooms, all for the sake of trying to make people feel more connected even when they’re all just sitting in their own homes.

Designer: Microsoft

In order to shake off the image of something only for games and entertainment, platform developers like Meta and Microsoft try to make mixed reality technologies something that’s actually useful for serious business as well. These usually involve providing virtual spaces for meetings, creating avatars that represent employees, and holding more interactive and livelier gatherings that would otherwise be a boring experience of watching people’s faces in a grid of boxes. In other words, they try to recreate the feelings and emotions of meeting in person when they physically can’t.

Microsoft Mesh is Redmond’s solution to this problem. Think of it like a VR Microsoft Teams and is, in fact, integrated into Microsoft’s collaboration platform. With just a few clicks, you can turn a flat, literally and figuratively, meeting into a 3D virtual experience, complete with bars, chairs, fires, and, of course, a screen inside a screen for showing presentations to your team. You’ll have to create your own personalized avatar, preferably something close to your real-world appearance, and you can decorate your spaces the way you want, including company logos, of course.

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Microsoft is leaning heavily on its no-code tools to make Mesh more enticing, in addition to having it tied to Microsoft Teams in the first place. Designing the area is a simple process of dragging and dropping assets as you would in a 3D game editor, thanks to a collaboration with Unity 3D. But if that is already too complex, Microsoft Co-Pilot offers an easier method that utilizes AI to translate your prompts into captivating virtual interiors, or at least the semblance of one. Whether it’s just a simple stand-up meeting that needs everyone to be on their toes, a brainstorming session that requires a bit more creativity, or a presentation that needs to keep people attentive, a virtual meeting space is probably going to help spice things up a bit.

Mesh comes at an interesting time when businesses are actually pushing for their workers to return to the office completely. For many companies, however, hybrid has become an unavoidable and permanent reality, with both the benefits and drawbacks it carries, particularly when it comes to the indirect interaction between humans. Microsoft Mesh is being positioned as the next best thing to support those social connections even when actual physical cues are absent. It’s now being made available for Windows PCs, but those who want a more immersive and convincing experience can enjoy it using their Meta Quest headset. That said, you’ll need a Microsoft subscription as well, so it’s not exactly something that everyone can experience.

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Disney’s intuitive solution to physically moving around in metaverse is the HoloTitle floor

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Virtual reality and augmented reality are going to set the tone this decade without a semblance of doubt. Moving around your avatar in larger-than-life worlds tickles your visual senses but you always realize it’s not the real thing since you are sitting or standing still while the character moves around in a virtual environment.

The Virtuix Omini was a good attempt at elevating your multi-dimensional experience in the metaverse but it didn’t fare well owing to its hardware and software limitations. After that things went back to square one, that is till now. The legendary Disney legend Lanny Smoot who’s got over 100 patented inventions has finally created something that’ll interest the most finicky of geeks.

Designer: Disney

This HoloDeck-inspired VR accessory is that’s an omnidirectional treadmill project that’s going to change how virtual reality is experienced. Dubbed the HoloTile, this creation has individual rotating tiles that actuate the real moment of the user corresponding to the movement in the VR world. The modular, expandable treadmill floor lets the user move in an infinite direction without walking off the surface. Lanny who’s currently a Disney Research Fellow has developed this system to create a deeper connection between the VR world and the body movement.

The treadmill can be expanded if multiple users want to use it, without bumping into each other. A good example of this would be several people in a room able to “be somewhere else collaboratively and moving around, seeing, doing sightseeing,” according to Smooth. Another application would be in theatrical stages, where multiple artists can collaborate in virtual worlds for a spectacular performance.

The HoloTile floor is still a work in progress and as we can see from the video it looks promising. Smoot walks in VR wearing the Quest Pro headset, as if walking on a real tarmac. The technology aims to address the locomotion problem without hitting obstacles or feeling clumsy enough to not walk naturally on the surface.

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