FORMULA E TO EMBRACE VIRTUAL REALITY FUTURE
Formula E will ramp up its use of virtual reality in the coming months as the electric single-seater series seeks to lead motorsport’s embracing of the technology.
While Formula 1 has recently targeted VR as an avenue to expand into, FE has been experimenting with it alongside American company Virtually Live since the end of last year.
It opened up on-site demos of the technology in Long Beach in April, after ex-formula One Teams’ Association secretary Oliver Weingarten introduced FE and Virtually Live to one another about running such trials.
It works by taking GPS data from events to recreate the races in CGI form. Users can then follow the races from onboard each car, in team garages or from hospitality, as well as accessing the world feed’s camera angle.
Broadcasting deals mean it is not certain that virtual reality will become part of the championship’s live coverage of its 2016/17 campaign but those involved with the project insist it will begin to expand its use.
“Our roadmap aims to offer fans a much-improved experience,” said Tom Impallomeni, Virtually Live CEO. “With a reasonable amount of time between races, it makes sense for us to be developing a Virtually Live content strategy that extends beyond live.”
Tom Halls, FE’S head of digital, also suggested that when the technology moves into the demo phase it will not be incorporated into a live broadcast immediately.
“Technically it could be released to fans in its current state, but we are keen to really enhance and flesh out the experience to really build a product that we’re both proud of and one that reflects the innovative nature of the series,” he said.
“Our data API allows us to recreate the race in virtual reality as it’s happening – no one else is doing this, so we’re being conscientious of how fans would respond to that experience and how it can be used to complement the usual TV broadcast model.”
The CGI renders are primitive at the moment, but Impallomeni says in time it will become “almost photo real”.
Weingarten believes it makes perfect sense for FE to lead the way in investing.
“They don’t have as many rules as F1 or others that have been around much longer or have longer [broadcasting] deals,” he said. “Its demographic is the envy of many other championships out there.”
“There’s a lot of money in VR. Facebook bought Oculus, HTC lost a big proportion of the mobile market and has put a lot of money into the Vive,” added Impallomeni. “It’s not a fad, it will be around a long time.”