BMW M Mixed Reality is an innovative driving experience that combines virtual and physical worlds and turns the vehicle itself into a gaming controller. State-of-the-art VR technologies enable an immersive in-car experience on a completely new level. We caught up with BMW M Mixed Reality Project Manager Alexander 'Alex' Kuttner for an interview, who explains what makes the driving experience so unique and special.
BMW M Magazine: Alex, let's start at the beginning: What does the term Mixed Reality actually mean?
Alexander Kuttner: First of all, Mixed Reality means that two different worlds - the physical, real world and the digital world - are mixed or superimposed and combined. This creates something that is also known as phygital. In the case of BMW M Mixed Reality, the BMW M vehicle is still part of the physical world. But we take it into the digital world, which the driver can experience with the help of his VR headset and BMWM Mixed Reality technology. Or to put it another way: you really are sitting in your car, only what usually happens outside is a little different.
We want to combine the ultimate driving pleasure offered by BMW M models with the limitless possibilities of the virtual world.
What makes BMW M Mixed Reality so unique?
The special thing about BMW M Mixed Reality is that we take the real car into the virtual world in a way that doesn't lose the connection between driver and vehicle. So anyone who knows how a BMW M2 or BMW M4 feels to drive in the real world and to whom performance, agility and precision are important will be able to take precisely this feeling with them into the VR world. When developing this technology, it was particularly important to us that the driver immediately feels comfortable and safe. We want to combine the ultimate driving pleasure offered by the BMW M models with the limitless possibilities of the virtual world.
How does this technology actually work?
There are three challenges that are needed for smooth driving fun: Firstly, the vehicle has to be located on the travelled area, including how it got from A to B. So you need a very accurate GPS signal. The second hurdle is the movements of the vehicle itself - rolling and pitching movements, such as those that occur when accelerating and turning. They have to be fed one-to-one into the virtual world so that a realistic and as pleasant as possible driving experience is achieved. The third variable is the driver himself, who moves around in the car. Fast curves, heavy braking - the G-forces create very natural movements of the body that have to be taken into account. These three systems must be connected without latency - i.e. without any noticeable delay - and transferred to the digital world so that a high-resolution world is created in front of the driver's eyes that is comprehensible, does not trigger motion sickness and is simply fun.
Is BMW M Mixed Reality compatible with all BMW M vehicles?
The great thing about the technology developed by BMW M itself is that it works independently of the model's drive. We use the existing, in-vehicle systems whose signal processing is standardised in all BMW and BMW M cars. They are so precise that we don't need any additional sensors. So we can easily use a BMW M2 or BMW M4 with an inline six-cylinder engine, or a BMW i5 M60 with an all-electric powertrain. For our first test vehicle and the launch of BMW M Mixed Reality at the end of 2022, the BMW M2 was chosen because its basic design already has a sporty, playful character. It was simply a great fit for this theme.
Which VR worlds do drivers experience in BMW M Mixed Reality?
Currently, drivers can experience two different worlds: An urban-looking city circuit world and one where you drive on an alien planet. But that's just the beginning. I can very well imagine that there will soon be a multitude of other worlds and possibilities to experience BMW M Mixed Reality.
Is it possible to try out BMW M Mixed Reality for yourself?
Yes, from mid-September customers will be able to book BWM M Mixed Reality for the first time as a training offer at the BMW M Driving Experience. That will also be a highlight for me, by the way, because I'm really looking forward to people's feedback.
BMW M Mixed Reality is a platform that is far from having exhausted its potential.
What further possibilities does this technology offer for the BMW M brand in the future?
Originally, the project was designed purely as a demonstration: Does something like this even work? Can we bundle all the relevant data for an optimal VR experience? Once we had proven that, it was clear that it would be helpful for us in developing new VR content for head-up displays, for example, or for testing new vehicle interiors in general. Because no matter what you want to display in the vehicle in the future, whether it's on the windscreen or on AR (augmented reality) glasses - you need the many vehicle parameters, i.e. how the car really moves. Of course, the topic of gaming also quickly moved more into focus - the vehicle as the ultimate controller. You have to bear in mind here that even a sophisticated racing simulator, such as the one used by BMW M Motorsport, can only represent G-forces and other dynamics to a very limited extent. The immersion is also much stronger in BMW M Mixed Reality than in such simulators. Multiplayer events in which each participant drives on their own surface, but in the VR world they all drive together on one track, are conceivable. Drifting in an obstacle course or reenacting car chases - situations we would never get into in the real world - can also be experienced with BMW M Mixed Reality. A slightly different case would be driving on real racetracks such as the Nürburgring: with AR glasses or the head-up display of the future, the racing line, braking points, a ghost or even an opponent could be displayed, for example. This is still pie in the sky - but you quickly realise that the technology is still in its infancy, but it quickly becomes clear how we at BMW M can help shape the metaverse, to use that term, at this point. BMW M Mixed Reality is a platform that is far from having exhausted its potential.
Thank you, Alex!
