Pico Interactive’s headsets have been chosen by BMW in conjunction with We are Jerry (a sports consulting agency) and AR/VR experts GOVAR, for a new VR workshop & live experience for BMW i Motorsport’s Formula E engagement.
The virtual experience runs on ENGAGE, which incorporates all CAD and 360° data, videos, live streams and presentations from BMW i Motorsport in addition to content from sponsors and partners.
With COVID restrictions on live events, We are Jerry and GOVAR created the “BMW i Virtual Garage Experience” for BMW i Motorsport, which provides more options than in-person events. For example, CAD and 360° data of the BMW E race cars, videos, live streams, presentations and other content can be integrated into the experience. Up to 1,000 guests can move around the virtual live experience at the same time if required.
With Pico's VR headsets, select customers, sponsors and partners of BMW i Motorsport will get access to the world's first fully immersive Formula E experience
The virtual workshop & live experience platform developed by We are Jerry and GOVAR opens up new ways and opportunities for us at BMW i Motorsport to work with sponsors, partners and customers”— Lutz-Philipp Kugler, Brand Cooperations BMW Group,
BARCELONA, SPAIN, July 1, 2021 -- Pico Interactive, one of the world's leading developers of innovative VR (virtual reality) solutions for B2B use, will showcase for the first time at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona a groundbreaking virtual reality (VR) workshop & live experience developed by Munich-based sports consulting agency We are Jerry and AR/VR experts GOVAR for BMW i Motorsport's Formula E engagement. The virtual Experience works on the ENGAGE VR platform, developed by VR Education, which makes it possible to incorporate not only all CAD and 360° data, videos, live streams, and presentations from BMW i Motorsport, but also content from sponsors and partners. In order to overcome COVID restrictions on live events, such as VIP hospitality events, We are Jerry and GOVAR created a virtual experience platform - the "BMW i Virtual Garage Experience" - for BMW i Motorsport, which offers even more possibilities than the live onsite experience.
Exceptional motorsport experience
The central question was: "How do we compensate for the COVID-related limitations for the partners and guests of BMW i Motorsport and, at the same time, create completely new target group-compliant customer experiences in the digital world, all as efficiently and synergistically as possible?" explains Karsten Streng, Founder and Managing Partner of We are Jerry.
It quickly became clear to all those responsible: The high standards and requirements of BMW i Motosport could only be implemented with extremely powerful VR headsets. The guests should be presented with a seamless immersive experience that lives up to the premium standards of the BMW brand as an innovation leader. The choice quickly fell on standalone VR headsets from Pico Interactive: "Pico has by far the most powerful VR glasses, which also offer 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) for spatial movement in the experience," says Stefan Göppel, Managing Director of GOVAR. "Spatial distance does not mean sacrificing social interaction. The virtual workshop & live experience for BMW i Motorsport is therefore an encounter, thanks to the immersion it creates the feeling of a live meeting.”
From the Garage Tour to The Roof Top Bar: Talk&Meet with the drivers
The newly created VR event platform offers significantly more options than "just" virtually mapping the possibilities of the previous hospitality events as part of Formula E. For example, CAD and 360° data of the BMW E race cars, videos, live streams, presentations and other content can be integrated into the Experience, which can be accessed individually by guests. In addition, BMW i Motorsport has the option to provide sponsors and partners of the Formula E team such as Julius Baer, Einhell, Fortinet and others with their own virtual experience areas, which they can use for their own customer loyalty measures. Up to 70 guests can move around the virtual live experience at the same time or if required, even up to 1,000 guests.
"The virtual workshop & live experience platform developed by We are Jerry and GOVAR opens up new ways and opportunities for us at BMW i Motorsport to work with sponsors, partners and customers," says Lutz-Philipp Kugler, Brand Cooperations BMW Group, summarizing the unique project. "Instead of setting up hospitality events over and over again for each Formula E race, we only had to develop the virtual platform once and can now flexibly change and adapt it. Our sponsors and partners have responded very positively to this new form of customer engagement and interaction - not only as an alternative during the Corona pandemic, but they welcome being able to create their own virtual experience spaces for their own content and experiences. This experience clearly demonstrates the future potential of virtual events."
The first BMW i Virtual Garage Experience will take place on July 1, 2021. Selected marketing decision-makers from BMW i Motorsport partners around the world will receive a special BMW i Formula E Experience box containing the Pico headsets as well as exclusive team merchandise. Using the Pico VR headset, guests will be able to enjoy the pre-installed virtual experience and visit unique locations.
During the garage tour, a BMW engineer waits for the guests and introduces the technical concept of the electric racer. Guests can look through the BMW Formula E racing car as if they were using an X-ray machine and view all the technical details at their leisure. Guests will get first-hand insights from the two Team BMW i Andretti Motorsport drivers Maximilian Günther and Jake Dennis, who will be on hand to answer questions. Those who aren't afraid of fast-paced action can climb into the BMW i8 Safety Car as a co-driver and take a lap of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit in 360°. In addition, various content offers await the guests, which they can consume at their leisure. Formula E Hospitality can then be rounded off perfectly with a virtual drink in the Roof Top Bar. Here, guests have the opportunity to communicate with the other guests while also switching to a private mode if others are not to take part in the conversation. Another advantage of the ENGAGE platform used is that the BMW Formula E experience can also be experienced in 2D desktop/laptop mode.
In addition to the tour through the garage of the BMW i Andretti Motorsport team, guests receive an X-ray view of the inner workings of the BMW Formula E race car, receive background information from BMW engineers about the drivetrain, for example, and can experience the cockpit of the bolide to get the race car drivers’ perspective. They can also take a virtual 360° lap of the racetrack as a co-driver in the BMW i8 Safety Car and then meet other guests in the Roof Top Bar for an informal exchange of ideas.Guests at the BMW i Virtual Garage Experience will receive a high-quality hospitality box in advance of each event, which will include exclusive team merchandise as well as standalone VR headsets from Pico Interactive: Simply put on the headset and dive in, the Formula E Experience is pre-installed.
Samet Simsek
Havana Orange GmbH
+4989921315188 ext.
pico@havanaorange.de
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