Driving through world-famous race tracks or Instagram-worthy mountain roads using a simulator is nice and all, but there’s nothing quite like being behind the wheel on a route you’re already familiar with in real life. Can you imagine climbing up to Baguio City via a virtual Kennon Road? That sure would be something.
Well, Porsche is currently developing technology that might one day allow motorists to do exactly that. It’s called the Virtual Roads project, and essentially it will let drivers “choose their favorite routes from real life and transfer them into a video game.”
Neat stuff, right? How does it work? Basically, there will be a smartphone app that will record routes by placing your device behind the windshield. Artificial intelligence will then capture the road ahead and its surroundings and will reproduce them in virtual form.
ALSO READ:
The GTS badge finds its way to the back of an all-electric Porsche for the first time
Right now, the technology is able to digitize drives of up to 8km. The recorded environments will be compatible with racing games like Assetto Corsa, allowing motorists to experience their favorite drives over and over again in front of a screen. The experience will supposedly be realistic, too, being able to replicate road surfaces and sharp turns.
“If you ask people what they think is the most beautiful road, everyone has their own, very personal route in mind. The characteristics of the topography are what make a route particularly attractive, regardless of whether it is a unique Alpine pass or a legendary coastal road,” says Robert Ader, chief marketing officer at Porsche.
“We want to trigger these great memories with a much simpler digitalization process that allows anyone to drive their favorite route virtually.”
Sounds promising. Thing regular racing simulator titles will go extinct if this kind of tech ever hits the market?
Porsche Virtual Roads
