VW celebrates the world premiere of T-Roc with a VR experience for first-time users.
Volkswagen Group is back again with yet another VR project that continues to prove just how much faith the German automaker truly has in the immersive medium. We’ve seen the company use the technology before on everything from collaborative group meetings between team members to a simulator that lets you drive an Audi in a sandbox track. This latest venture into VR mixes things up however by providing a custom immersive experience right in the lobby of the Volkswagen’s administrative Brand Tower in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Open to the public now for the low, low price of $0, the T-Roc Virtual Reality Experience was designed with an accessible user interface in mind in order to remain as self-explanatory as technologically possible. The result is a custom Vive setup that utilizes Leap Motion hand-tracking technology to let users control everything without the need of unfamiliar motion controllers. After users take a seat in the exhibit and strap into their HTC Vive headset, they’ll be instantly transported to an exact virtual replica of the Brand Tower lobby they’re currently situated in. From there, users can then interact with a life-size 3D model of the Volkswagen T-Roc SUV/crossover with their own two hands.
By following some extremely basic on-screen instructions, users can alter the vehicles configurations using a series of realistic movements and gestures. First, swipe to cycle through the cars available colors before making a final selection. Then, hop into the drivers seat and peak around the detailed interior of the sporty vehicle using the Vive’s room scale technology. From there you can push a button on the ceiling to open the moonroof and let in some air, honk the horn like a maniac, fiddle with the radio on the dash to turn on some sweet tunes or reach out and open the glove compartment to grab your virtual insurance information for the virtual highway patrol officer. Okay maybe not that last part.
The experience itself is an excellent way of introducing the new vehicle to customers using an engaging new format. And while Volkswagen is by no means the first auto maker to employ the use of VR, they are attempting to make it simpler than anyone else. When it comes to high-end VR, one of its biggest roadblocks can be its ability to scare away first-time users. The T-Roc experience does away with the usual complexities by giving participants the comfort of using their own hands and providing extremely basic in-game instruction. The exhibit also appears to be entirely self-service, a current rarity within the PC-powered VR scene.
So if you just so happen to find yourself near the Volkswagen Markenhochhaus Brand Tower in Wolfsburg, Germany, stop in for a super accessible VR experience full of all the poking and prodding you could possibly desire.
