First off to prevent confusion, the following has nothing to do with iOpener’s Real-Time Racing project, the names are just very much similar.
British-based company Real Time Race is looking to revolutionize the racing game genre by replacing standard graphics with footage from video and laser scanning.
Their concept has been in the works for four years now, producing some very interesting results already. Using 360-degree cameras, GPS and laser-scanner, they acquire data from tracks and cars that is later stitched together so it can be used in racing games. Sounds a little confusing? Make sure to watch the video below as it’s perfectly explained there, including an early look on how the finished product could look.
For further info on their technology, make sure to also pay the Real Time Race website a visit.
eddiespag
November 2nd, 2009 at 06:08
Instead of computer graphics, hi def footage. Mindblowing!
ForzaBarca88
November 2nd, 2009 at 06:49
That looks absolutely incredible. Im genuinely stunned
felipe
November 2nd, 2009 at 08:31
some choose dvd-9 other choose blu-ray drive, some use gmotor other choose to get real!
edit. current blu-ray can hold 50gb so size won’t be a problem plus future blu-ray will hold up to 250gb and 500gb PS3 is pretty much bullet proof! but the other console LOL!!!
gtrNL
November 2nd, 2009 at 08:32
Have to agree, that’s absolutly brilliant.
Sensekhmet
November 2nd, 2009 at 09:55
Whoa.
vik15
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:13
It was not perfectly explained for me. I can imagine the google like camera plus a laser may be able to produce a kind of 3d representation but how they are going to put that huge amount of data to an Xbox or PC. Guess it would be rather several pre-rendered video streams, which would difer slightly for different trajectories. It would be an evolution of current Google street view maybe but still don’t understand how they are going to put a real time cars competition there.
mattabater
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:19
Bathurst
so all you have to do for the track is put the data in where like the bumps would be and you have an almost perfectly modeled track well no worrying bout the lay out anyway, wont be long and it will be rendering smoothly all in hd. ISI hit these guys up!.
6e66o
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:11
Our Grandchildren will have cool Simulation Games
idlejimbo
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:39
It’s neat to see a camera integrated with the laser scanning. Has that been done before by other developers? The problem I see is that simulating real time conditions (weather, debris, sky, time of day, etc.) actually becomes harder and less realistic, surely.
As for real time racing against Alonso et al, I’ve never felt any attraction to do so. Good AI or racing against mates will always be better, as at least those are interactive. Anything else will just be glorified ghost cars, and the only ghost cars that I’ve ever enjoy driving against are my own. Oh, and I like to have lunch when the GP is on.
commodore
November 2nd, 2009 at 17:49
Racing against the position data of real drivers is boring. Though the graphics thing they are doing is awesome.
Lenniepen
November 2nd, 2009 at 20:10
This is absolutely stunning!
This could be the beginning of the end of computer graphics, although it would be impossible to race on fictional tracks/game-levels with this technique.
homerfreak
November 2nd, 2009 at 21:13
Currently downloading the demo, sounds amazing! =)
Zenitchik
November 3rd, 2009 at 00:37
Tried the demo :S, its kind of like mario kart inside of google earth.. might be cool if they can manage to deliver the images in 1080 and the physics that are at least like Gran Turismo.
grimes
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:29
Just like a Real Time Racing rip of, only the video/laser scanning is intresting.
felipe
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:15
who came first the chicken or the egg?
Howie47
November 3rd, 2009 at 15:26
Could put allot of Sim track makers out of business. Has a great potential for driving scenic roads, like in TDU. Especially with HD. They’ll need to add dynamic lighting, shadows, weather, and animation. So it has a long way to go.
I think there is possibility to do this at home. Mount a few HD camers on your car and record any road, then combine it traditional track making objects, sky. If I had the money and time it would be a fun experiment.
carbonfibre
November 3rd, 2009 at 18:07
I think it’s very good to be in the laser scanning business during the next decade. -whatever that means. Basically, I think computer games design will broadly involve much more laser scanned objects and environments as the processes become more commonplace and easier to do.
Out of all the technologies so far I still think LFS’s method of collecting colour information along with point data is the best way forward for simulation as I don’t think racing aside moving photos is going to deliver the immersive playback that a mapped computer environment can with high resolution textures. Plus you can have all the bell and whistles attached like dynamic shadows without essentially photoshopping images.
Besides that, graphics technology has come to far to just adopt this new method now or any time soon.
xilix
November 10th, 2009 at 19:48
I signed up only a few days after the signup site launched. The location of their headqaurters would explain why I haven’t received my beta key yet. I’m in the USA, which I’m guessing fails to provide the ping latency they’re currently looking for to test with.
The opportunity to race with real racecar drivers for hours on end is an amazing thing. I hope that I’ll be able to participate soon.