In addition to all the new cars at the New York Auto Show, something we loved checking out was the all new Chrysler 200 factory. You got it – a factory within the auto show floor. How did they make it happen? Using Google Maps’ business view, alongside Oculus Rift’s virtual reality. Once known for bringing video games to life, Oculus was purchased by Facebook for $2 billion, so using VR may eventually become as common as checking a Facebook profile. The result from our Oculus Rift experience?
We got 360-degree views and a tour through the Chrysler factory and now feel as though we’ve been there. And, like many eager consumers, we want these headsets!
Here’s what happened:
First, we sat down in the Chrysler 200 and took a look around. Then, some helpful folks fitted us with Oculus Rift headsets. Once we put them on, it looked like not much had changed, only now we had a virtual view of the car we were sitting in on the auto show floor.
Slowly, the interior of the 200 exploded out (complete with shaking seats like an iMax theater), with the individual parts – knobs, door panels, engine, you name it – floating in a white space.
All we had to do was look anywhere (up, down, right left – we were surrounded), and hover a little blue crosshair over the part we’d like to learn more about. That would trigger an explanation and video about that part, how it was assembled, painted, measured within a zillionth of a millimeter, then it would bring us back to the white space with parts floating everywhere. Piece by piece, we toured through the factory, learning how the Chrysler 200 was built from the ground-up, and it felt like we were right there alongside the robots.
Want to take a look? Here’s how the new Chrysler 200 factory looked. Pretty cool, huh?!
Meanwhile, here’s how we looked (pretty ridiculous, but you can see our heads turning, looking around at the various virtual car parts):
Have you ever tried VR? Are you eagerly awaiting your Oculus Rift headset delivery in 2016? This experience has made fans of team Openbay!