The game integrates the vehicle’s real surroundings, including buildings, roads and traffic, offering unique experiences and challenges every time.
Valeo Racer is the first extended reality video game to combine live video and world perception of the real environment with digital gaming elements. The “infinite runner” game is generated by a software stack developed by Valeo. It uses the vehicle’s existing Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS), including cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors, and artificial intelligence perception algorithms to insert the car’s real-time environment data into Unity’s Runtime to generate game elements. The Runtime is a proprietary component of the game engine that handles various critical components of the game, rendering high-performance graphics, managing user input and interactions, coordinating game components, supporting real-time physics simulation, animation, scripting languages, asset management, and networking – all on the end device. The result allows passengers to play on their phone or tablet connected with in-vehicle wifi and even compete with each other during trips.
Unity, which has long been a cornerstone of game development, has gained a lot of traction within the Automotive industry. The Unity Engine is used throughout the sector from pre production design concepts and ADAS simulation tools through to production infotainment systems deployed in vehicles.
Relying on Valeo’s unmatched expertise in both hardware and software for ADAS and Unity Runtime, Valeo Racer offers passengers a re-imagined infotainment experience. As the automotive industry evolves toward autonomous and connected vehicles, in-car entertainment will become increasingly important to enhance the overall user experience for passengers. Valeo Racer is an on road demonstration of how Valeo’s Automotive XR gaming Software Development Kit could help car manufacturers offer new in-vehicle entertainment powered by existing equipment.
