CES 2019: Holoride looks to revolutionize in-car entertainment with VR

Trying to think about mixing virtual reality and real-life car rides seem like a recipe for disaster. Just thinking about it makes us slightly nauseous. But this is what Holoride and Audi (which has spun out the company from its operations) hope to change. The two offered an in-car VR experience at CES in partnership with Disney. Holoride and Audi let tech and motoring journalists try out a VR experience called Marvel’s Avengers: Rocket’s Rescue Run. The concept is to change in-car entertainment with the passengers inside an Audi e-tron strapped into a VR headset. The unique thing is the content replicates the movement of the car. So, if the car speeds up, so does the ship. If it turns, then the perspective shifts, too.

Holoride plans to release a software development kit so that developers and other automakers can create an experience of their own. The SDK will serve as the interface to the vehicle data and transfer those into virtual realities, allowing the developers to create games and movies that sync with the user’s motion in the car. According to Audi, even conventional movies, shows, or presentations can be viewed with less chance of motion sickness. The company aims to release VR entertainment on the market within the next three years using standard VR headsets for backseat passengers.

Source: Tech Crunch + VRFocus

Samsung to develop Exynos Auto chip, coming first to Audi cars

Samsung’s latest news involving the automotive space will benefit Audi first, which is expected with the company’s ongoing partnership with the automaker. Samsung is developing its first Exynos chip for cars and it’s expected to come to Audi vehicles in 2021. The Exynos Auto is being created to bolster the in-vehicle infotainment system of these cars. It’ll be based on an eight-nanometer process tech and have eight ARM Cortex-A76 cores with maximum speed of 2.1GHz. It’ll have an ARM Mali G76 GPU, HiFi 4 audio digital signal processor, and an intelligent neural processing unit. Samsung is promising to introduce premium audio features as well as multi-screen capabilities—with support for up to six screens and 12 camera connections.

Source: Engadget

Audi shows off self-parking capabilities of the A8

Audi is unveiling its next-generation A8 on July 11^th and before that the German car maker is showing one of the new features of the vehicle: its self-parking capabilities. The video shows how easy it is to park the new vehicle. It just needs you to press the key fob once and the car will park itself. As CNET points out, there seems to be less human interaction with this A8 compared to Tesla’s Summon feature and BMW’s remote-parking system. The car is capable of SAE Level 3 autonomy. The A8 itself and all the other features will be revealed fully on the 11^th and before that on July 7^th in a bit of a product placement in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming premiere.

Audi and VW recall Q5 and Tiguan crossovers to replace Takata inflators

 Audi and VW are recalling  734 examples of the 2015 Tiguan with production dates between January 15, 2015, and January 21, 2015, and the 2015 Q5 built between January 13, 2015, and February 3, 2015. What is being replaced are airbag inflators that can rupture after a crash. 

This recall is the latest one of many for Takata related airbag issues. Honda recently recalled 2.2 million cars due to faulty Takata airbags. A side airbag ruptured in a 2015 Tiguan in June 2015, and the driver sustained slight injuries under the left arm. The person didn't need to seek medical attention. VW and Audi will advise owners on the recall.

Source: Autoblog and NBCNews