Nissan adds an extra dimension to virtual reality

NISSAN has found a novel way of giving all Godzilla fans at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed a taste of what it's like to take the new GT-R around the track
Unveiled on Thursday as the world's biggest garden party for gear heads opened its doors for 2016, the 4D demonstrator, in Nissan's words, is where real and virtual worlds collide.
Allowing 15 people at a time to 'travel' in the passenger seat of the new Nissan GT-R with NISMO driver Jann Mardenborough behind the wheel, the visual action is relayed via Samsung Virtual Reality headsets. However, the fourth dimension comes in the form of dynamic seats, which move in synchronisation with the action.
Guillaume Cartier, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Nissan Europe, commented: "There's no better way to experience the amazing capabilities of the Nissan GT-R than by sitting next to a driver like Jann Mardenborough. This world-first 4D virtual reality simulation will allow thousands of Festival visitors to have a close to real ride in this iconic car with one of our finest racers."
Car companies are usually cautious of new technologies but have been at the very forefront of adapting virtual reality, be it for offering customers immersive experiences or, in the case of firms like BMW, for helping designers accelerate the creative process itself.
It's also fitting that something like VR is used to introduce the latest generation Nissan GT-R (or Godzilla as it's affectionately known by its fans) as it is considered the supercar for the PlayStation generation. Even the newest model is as high on computing capabilities as it is on horsepower in order to keep the car's 570PS in check and all four wheels glued to the road surface.
Alongside the VR simulator, Nissan is also showing off one of the fastest-accelerating drones ever built. The GT-R Drone was created in order to be able to keep up with and film the new GT-R and can go from standstill to 100km/h in just 1.3 seconds. That makes it almost three times faster off the mark than the car.
However the new GT-R tops out at 196mph and the drone can only manage 115mph. — AFP Relaxnews