The car industry has already begun to embrace the capabilities of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in design, manufacturing, training and customer engagement. The Petersen Automotive Museum is also following this trend with its new Mixed Reality (MR) exhibit, An American Supercar.
The Petersen Automotive Museum has worked with Ford and HoloLens application developer Zengalt to create a new interactive exhibit that shows the history and inner workings of Ford’s GT line of supercars.
The exhibit stars a 1967 Ford GT40 Mark III, a famous high-performance car which won several Le Mans 24 hour endurance races during the 1960s. Next to it sits its modern successor, the 2017 Ford GT. By donning a Microsoft HoloLens headset, visitors to the museum can see the two cars brought to life.
Using MR holograms, visitors can learn more about the history of both cars and discover what they have in common, as well as exploring the racing pedigree of the GT40. The aim of the exhibition is to blend the real and the virtual to tell a story. Spatial audio is also utilised to allow visitors to hear the sounds of the Ford engines, or the shriek of tires on a racetrack.
“Our compelling new HoloLens experience will be a wonderful addition to the museum, as we set out to include more interactive displays to enhance our storytelling capabilities,” Terry Karges, the museum’s executive director, said in a news release.
“The unique mixed reality experience will offer a true-to-life account of how the two cars are historically linked and what makes each remarkable,” the museum said in its news release.
The An American Supercar Exhibit is now open at the Peterson Automotive Museum on the Rob and Melani Walton Industry floor, with plans for it to remain until Autumn 2018. Tickets for the exhibit can be found on the Museum’s website. A video of the exhibit is available to view below.
For news on other museums incorporating VR/AR/MR into its exhibits, keep checking VRFocus.