Passengers in cars are often bored. Holoride uses real-time data during the journey, using artificial intelligence to create a completely new entertainment program for passengers. The extended reality experience is even designed to reduce motion sickness. The founders reveal more about their XR in-flight entertainment program in our 7 questions.
Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Holoride: Hello Munich! We are Daniel Profendiner (38, CTO), Marcus Kühne (44, CXO), and Nils Wollny (38, CEO). Together we founded Holoride and want to transform boring travel time into an exciting adventure.
People often talk about fate and providence when people find each other. It wasn't quite that dramatic in our case. But you could certainly describe it as a pleasant coincidence. All three of us worked for the company with the four rings in its logo, sometimes in completely different areas. Marcus and Daniel were actually connected by the patent department of Audi AG because they both independently and at the same time filed an almost identical patent—let's just say: it had something to do with Holoride.
Partnerships with Audi and Disney
While Daniel, at the time, primarily viewed the use of immersive technologies in vehicles from a technical and conceptual perspective, Marcus, as the head of strategy for VR/AR, and Nils, as Head of Digital Business, also examined the economic side in detail and quickly realized that only a manufacturer-independent approach had a chance of scaling and commercial relevance. With this insight and a strong enthusiasm for the technology, the three pushed the project forward in every free minute and were ultimately able to successfully present it to the board of directors of Audi and the VW Group.
At the end of 2018, we formed a spin-off company to implement a manufacturer-agnostic solution. We then officially presented Holoride to the world at CES 2019 in Las Vegas, together with our two dream partners, Audi and Disney, and caused quite a stir.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
Holoride: Travel time is often wasted time. For this reason, we have set ourselves the goal of making car journeys more exciting, especially for passengers. After all, estimates assume that over 1 billion journeys are made daily worldwide in private vehicles with at least one passenger on board in addition to the driver. Due to a lack of entertainment options, these journeys are wasted time and a necessary evil for most passengers. The driving experience is still very much geared towards the driver, and today's media offerings are only partially suitable for use in the car, as their enjoyment is severely restricted — e.g., by small screens or formats that are not ideal for travel time. In addition, many people suffer from travel sickness because looking at a smartphone or tablet while driving can cause sensory impressions to become confused.
We solve this problem by merging IoT, AI, and XR into a new experience format. Sounds complicated? To be honest, it is. Derived from algorithms for autonomous driving, the Holoride software uses real-time data that provides information about a vehicle's position, navigation route, speed, as well as steering, braking, and acceleration behavior (IoT). This data is intelligently linked (AI) with highly immersive display technologies such as virtual, mixed, or augmented reality—so-called "extended reality" (XR). Thanks to the almost exact synchronization of image and movement, the quality of the content consumed is massively enhanced, as the real vehicle movements become part of the virtual experience, and the length of the content is based on the estimated travel time. Furthermore, the symptoms of motion sickness, which affects approximately two-thirds of all passengers, are significantly reduced.
The Holoride software enables the offering of a new media category: "Elastic Content." Designed for use in vehicles, content adapts to travel time, movement, and the context of the vehicle—for a highly immersive experience and significantly reduced symptoms of motion sickness. The effect of the coupling can be explained simply again: If the car turns left, you move in the same direction in the virtual environment. If you stop at a zebra crossing, a bright blue chick walks across it instead of a pedestrian. And the onset of precipitation—detected by the rain sensor—could rain down on your spaceship as a meteor shower. Cool, right? We think so too! Of course, these are ideas that don't necessarily have to be realized, but who knows?
For the first time, vehicle data becomes an enabler for a new entertainment format, and previously unused passenger time can be monetized for all participating partners. Holoride has the potential to transform in-vehicle entertainment for good. We are creating a global platform for the mobility and entertainment industry.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Holoride: No — we will be the first to establish this technology in the field of motorized transportation, starting with cars.
Holoride: For us, Munich is perfect
Munich Startup: Has there ever been a point where you almost failed?
Holoride: Fortunately not, but of course, there were a few sleepless nights before the founding. The launch and spin-off were a huge challenge, but we are firmly convinced of our technology and its resulting benefits.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Holoride: Series integration with vehicle manufacturers is planned for 2021, location-based experiences are a topic, and in 5 years, Holoride will work in all means of transport.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Holoride: For us, Munich is perfect—all three of us previously lived nearby in Ingolstadt or were already at home in Munich, and we feel very comfortable here. In addition to the large international companies based in Munich, we also naturally appreciate the diversity and high quality of life that the Bavarian capital offers. This is especially important to us in order to attract talented people to Munich if they don't already live here.
The international airport is of course also a plus for us and the fact that Munich as a location in itself is of great national and international importance is also shown by the Awarding of the IAA to Munich from 2021.
Munich Startup: Skype or in person?
Holoride: It all depends. In-person is always great, but unfortunately, that doesn't always work because we're on the road a lot with a variety of projects. Therefore, we always try to use a video during calls; we think that gives the conversations a bit more of a personal touch.
