Inspiration Friday: Motorcycle Riding with Mixed Reality?

“The participants drive on a small course, a virtual interpretation of BMW Town, and try to collect coins, like in a game.” Are you ready to Ride into the Future? Then you’re ready for today’s Inspiration Friday: Motorcycle Riding with Mixed Reality! All you need is a VR Headset and a vehicle. BMW‘s latest innovation, Mixed Reality, merging the virtual and real worlds. A seamless integration of the physical and digital realms, offering a new dimension to the driving experience. Philipp Götz, Instructor BMW M Driving Experience goes through the details.

True to the motto: Drive the Change, Change the Drive.

BMW says MR is the perfect combination of two worlds. On the one hand, you’re in a real vehicle, you can feel the full power of the BMW vehicle, you’re in the seat, you can see the steering wheel and your hands, but then you dive into this virtual world – a completely new dimension. The advantage of the M Mixed Reality is that the movements in the virtual space correspond to the real, perceived forces like acceleration, bends and braking – one to one, without any delay.

Apparently almost everyone who takes the M Mixed Reality Experience gets out of the car not only with a lot of adrenaline in their blood, but also lots of ideas as to what else you could do with this technology. It does make me wonder what the percentage of “almost” is and how did those participants react?

Future ideas for MR while driving ranges from depicting other, possibly even real, racetracks, via virtual changes to the car you’re sitting in to the completely free creation of the world you drive in and the objects you have to collect on the road. Online modes, in which you can compete in Multiplayer mode or together with the driver/rider next to you! The sky is the limit, as far as creativity is concerned. Of course, we’re still in development, but you can expect a lot of contents to come!

Inspirational or not? What do you think?

Also do not forget to read our 2024 and 2025 Motorcycle Model Guides and check out what’s on offer for 2024 right here on TMW!

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Editors Note: Since we bookmarked the Mini Mixed Reality experience last month: “Driving into the future” article below, it has been removed from the BMW press sites. Maybe we just imagined it in MR?

Mini Mixed Reality experience: Driving into the future

Mini is thrilled to unveil its latest innovation, Mini Mixed Reality, merging the virtual and real worlds. Mini is thrilled to unveil its latest innovation, Mini Mixed Reality, merging the virtual and real worlds. With Mini Mixed Reality, drivers can immerse themselves in a unique journey through the Mini universe while behind the wheel of a Mini, all through the power of virtual reality.

Mini Mixed Reality combines the thrill of driving with the immersive capabilities of virtual reality technology. Picture this: as you sit inside a Mini vehicle, your surroundings transform. Through a VR headset, you see the world outside the windows as a vibrant, virtual Mini Virtual Reality World, while still being able to navigate through the actual environment via camera streams. It’s a seamless integration of the physical and digital realms, offering a new dimension to the driving experience.

Mini is all about pushing boundaries and redefining what’s possible. Mini Mixed Reality is not just about driving—it’s about embarking on a journey, exploring the creative minds of Mini Design, and experiencing firsthand what Mini represents. It’s an invitation to see the world through a different lens, quite literally.

Behind the magic of Mini Mixed Reality lies a sophisticated system: a high-end PC running a self-designed Mini VR World, streaming seamlessly to the headset. But that’s not all—headset tracking, acceleration, sound, and vehicle interface devices work in harmony to create an unparalleled driving experience.

Mini Mixed Reality isn’t just a novelty—it’s a testament to Mini’s commitment to innovation. Once again, Mini is staying true to the Mini DNA and paving the way for future advancements. Mini Mixed Reality opens doors to exciting possibilities, from gaming integrations to potential partnerships.

At BMW Group, this technology is being utilized for test and validation purposes, including user studies for automated driving.

BMW M Mixed Reality Experience

The BMW M Mixed Reality Experience is a new and innovative driving experience, in which virtual and physical worlds are combined and the vehicle itself becomes the gaming controller. State-of-the-art Mixed Reality (MR) technologies enable an immersive in-car experience on a completely new level. In 2024, training courses will be bookable as stand-alone events. We talked to Philipp Götz, an M Driving instructor, about this unique experience.

BMW M Magazine: 2024 sees the return of the M Mixed Reality Experience, and at full throttle. Philipp, what lies in store for participants who decide to take this training course?

Philipp Götz: Basically, they can look forward to a training course they will never have experienced before because they’ll be diving into a completely new world. It is, as the name implies, a mixed-reality experience. That means the perfect combination of two worlds. On the one hand, you’re in a real vehicle, you can feel the full power of a 510-hp BMW M4 Competition, you’re in the cockpit, you can see the steering wheel and your hands, but then you dive into this virtual world – a completely new dimension. The participants drive on a small course, a virtual interpretation of M Town, and try to collect coins, like in a game. It’s a fantastic combination of the virtual and real worlds – and a new dimension of driving experience.

Am I a better driver with video game experience?

Anyone who’s played a racing game at least once and takes part in the M Mixed Reality Experience, will probably get used to it quicker, yes. But it’s also a completely new experience and can’t be compared with existing products on the market. The quality and the whole interplay with the vehicle – the real acceleration and the forces that then affect the body – this just doesn’t exist anywhere else. The level of perfection as realized here is an absolute world first. I think that everyone that gets out of the car at the end – I’ve heard the expression “potentially addictive” a few times – won’t forget the experience in a hurry.

It’s unique and at the same time indescribable. You just have to have experienced it!” – Philipp Götz Instructor BMW M Driving Experience

What do you as driving instructor see during the drives with the M Mixed Reality technology?

I sit in the passenger seat without a MR headset, so I don’t see the same thing as the participants. Of course, I know the virtual track from experience, so I know which bend is coming up next and can react accordingly – that was a challenge for me at the beginning, as I wasn’t yet fully prepared for the course.

How do the participants get used to the MR experience? You need a bit of courage at the beginning, don’t you?

Well, in fact, people go for it right from the start – albeit with the necessary respect, they are after all sitting in a very fast BMW M4. But they can’t wait to try the Mixed Reality experience. There is the well-known issue of motion sickness when using VR goggles, along with the unsuitable, static position you take up when playing racing games. But the advantage of the M Mixed Reality is that the movements in the virtual space correspond to the real, perceived forces like acceleration, bends and braking – one to one, without any delay. Add to that reference points like your hands on the steering wheel, which remain visible at all times and the result is that, as an instructor, I have never experienced a single case of motion sickness in participants.

Who are typical M Mixed Reality participants?

There isn’t really any such thing. I’ve had digital natives, who have experience with both simracing and VR. For them, M Mixed Reality was the logical next step. But I’ve also had older people who’d never worn a MR headset or played a game in their lives, but who had the time of their lives and who coped with the technology just fine.

How do you give your instructions, do you sit alongside the participants in the vehicle or do you help remotely?

When the visual experience is played to the participants via the MR headset, we use the standard audio system in BMW M models for the acoustic accompaniment in terms of music or sound effects. That allows me as instructor to talk to them normally and give directions – but normally, people get their bearings by themselves. Thanks to the size of the site on which the M Mixed Reality Experience takes place, there are no problems as regards run-off areas. And if I do have to intervene, I can use the brakes, but that hasn’t happened yet.

What maps can the participants drive in?

At the moment there’s only one map, a racetrack which can be driven at the Experience. It’s an interpretation of M Town. For the future, there are of course lots more tracks and game modes possible – so stay tuned!

Have the first challenges surfaced or do new ideas for training courses or components come up during the initial training runs?

Almost everyone who takes the M Mixed Reality Experience gets out of the car not only with a lot of adrenaline in their blood, but also lots of ideas as to what else you could do with this technology. It ranges from depicting other, possibly even real, racetracks, via virtual changes to the car you’re sitting in to the completely free creation of the world you drive in and the objects you have to collect on the road. Including online modes, in which you can compete in Multiplayer mode or together with a community. The sky is the limit, as far as creativity is concerned. Of course, we’re still in development, but you can expect a lot of contents to come!

PHILIPP GÖTZ.

Instructor since: 2017
Favourite BMW M vehicle: BMW M3 (G80)
Favourite BMW M Driving Experience: BMW M Drift Training
Motto: Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show!
Your wish for our customers: This experience opens up new worlds and everyone should have the chance to experience them.

Highly dynamic and completely real turns in a virtual world: BMW ///M Mixed Reality revolutionizes driving experience

Munich/Lisbon. At this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon, the BMW Group is presenting a mix of real driving and a virtual environment for the first time. ///M Mixed Reality is the name of the extraordinary experience.

Integrated gaming elements for a unique BMW M driving experience
The unique mixed reality1 approach, which a team of BMW M engineers developed together with Epic Games for the BMW M2, allows drivers and their vehicles to immerse themselves in a virtual world. People need to be able to experience the new feeling of driving a BMW with VR/MR glasses while mastering challenges at high speeds as in a racing game. Integrated gaming elements, such as avoiding obstacles, collecting virtual “coins,” etc., reinforce the immersive in-car experience. True to the motto: Drive the Change, Change the Drive. The system takes all movement and rotary axes of the BMW M2 into account. The vehicle itself becomes the controller, in this case the fastest controller in the world.

“Anyone who asks what virtual experiences in the automotive sector might look like in future: That is the answer. People must be able to experience this new feeling — and with ///M Mixed Reality, we offer them a suitable solution for this,” says Frank van Meel, CEO M GmbH.

With ///M Mixed Reality, the BMW Group is bringing technology to the high-profile driving sector, consistently relying on the principle of human centricity, in which the use of innovative technologies is driven by people’s wishes and needs. As part of this approach, the BMW Group laid the foundation for ConnectedDrive more than 20 years ago by installing modern communication technology in vehicles. “At BMW M, we have always been testing the limits of what is technically feasible and thus, among other things, laying the foundation for new immersive experiences,” says Frank van Meel.

The BMW Group is already using mixed reality technologies in many forms of application, merging real and digital worlds more and more. These include Augmented Reality 2 applications, cross-team development of vehicles, Virtual Reality 3 solutions for production planning and the iFactory Lydia. Using the powerful gaming engine from Epic Games (Unreal Engine), this became the BMW Group’s first factory, which was completely planned and simulated in a virtual environment. By the beginning of next year, the BMW Group will also digitize all production sites using 3D laser scans.

1 Mixed Reality: Mixed Reality (MR), Mixed Reality or Mixed Reality comprises environments or systems that mix natural and artificial perception.
2 Augmented Reality (AR) describes the computer-aided extension of reality perception.
3 Virtual Reality (VR) is the representation and simultaneous perception of an apparent reality and its physical properties in a real-time computer-generated, interactive virtual environment.