VirTra Inc (VTSI)

[gemmerling]

--- The sensations extend far beyond the visual ---

As the 2000 LeSabre "Drive With Confidence" tour embarks on its cross-country journey, it takes with it what may be the very first application of a new, more-advanced virtual-reality technology. Participants enter the activity area, sit in actual LeSabre "Catcher's Mitt" seats, don special headgear and embark on an adventure-filled cross-country trip. The premise of the trip is that the driver has picked up Buick-sponsored pro golfer Ben Crenshaw at his New York hotel and has to deliver him to a California golf course for his tee time. Along the way, of course, the participants get plenty of experience with the LeSabre, learning about the car's features and advantages over the competition. The technology involved in creating this unique experience is quite revolutionary. "It's completely new," said Lance Loesberg of Ferris Productions Inc., the company that produced the segment used on the tour. "Up until now, anything you saw in a virtual-reality usage was primarily computer generated graphics. This uses a brand new type of technology that allows filming in 360 degrees." With virtual reality, the experience is different for each viewer. If the LeSabre "driver" turns to look out the window, for example, the entire perspective changes accordingly, thanks to a computer that tracks the participant's movements. Of course, since the entire cross-country trip actually takes only about 8 minutes, the scenes have to shift. This is carried out very smoothly through a variety of techniques; for example, it starts raining, and when the wipers swish and the windshield clears, the car is in a different location. The sensations extend far beyond the visual. The radio is heard playing, and sounds come from outside the car; Crenshaw and other passengers carry on conversations. When the car stops along the way to pick up a group of skiers, one of them offers mints, and the scent of mint is emitted from the headgear. When the car drives past someone mowing the lawn, the smell of freshly cut grass emanates. "It is truly the closest to real life as current technology allows," Loesberg said. The "Drive With Confidence" tour will travel throughout the country for the next several months. Watch for more stories in upcoming issues of GM Edge.

http://www.filmxero.com/Buick%20pr.htm