Virtual reality at the IMS?

Those of you who follow the current Indycar Series probably know Robin Miller and his Mailbag at http://www.racer.com/ . I bought a Virtual Reality glasses recently (not Oculus, just a plastic holder for a smartphone) and i'm quite excited about it and all the growing content available for VR. I got an idea how to use it for race fans. I wonder if he replies (he usually does). What do you think? A complete nonsense or somehow realistic vision?

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Hi Robin,

i'd love to attend The 500 and i believe i will one day. Unfortunately, being from Eastern Europe, such trip would cost way too much money. But there might be a way to enjoy the race better than just watching it on TV. With Google cardboard (or similar "glasses" for VR), virtual reality is now accessible literally to anyone. You just put your smartphone into a device for 10-25$, put it on your head and you can enjoy the feeling of being wherever you want to (for example ride along with Jay Leno in his Jaguar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuvc6zQHIqE ). This is achieved by recording the scene on a 360 degrees camera, simple as that. My thought - how awesome would it be if there were a few of these around the IMS! Some on grandstands, some in pits, or even at the top of the scoring pylon. And you could freely switch between these cameras. I'm sure that fans who can't afford the trip in real life would gladly pay for the opportunity to attend the race at least in virtual world. I see some risks, like losing more TV numbers or even real people at the track, probably some legal issues, too. But something tells me that IMS might make significant amount of money on virtual tickets and win more fans around the globe. Also, they might be the leaders in innovation and technology again, as this would bring people to the authentic experience closer than ever. Your thoughts?

Petr that is a great idea  

And I don't think it will make IMS lose attendance. Some years ago, it is true that a part of the crowd at the tracks would be there because there was no TV coverage, but nowadays I think it is just a matter of wanting a certain experience. We have seen that with soccer and other mass sports, those who preferred TV have stayed home, but there is still a loyal crowd that is there for that special plus of ambience. Indy500 and Le Mans are good examples of that, I think that nobody on the crowd changes it for TV coverage, they are there to smell the petrol and oil, to feel the vibration of sound of crowd and engines, etc, all that extra experience of doing something real and not just virtual.

Sure, no virtual substitute can beat the real thing. Absolutely agree with that. Especially in Indy and LeMans, as these are much more than just races, these are huge events with parties, concerts and all. But people are getting lazy, you never know Anyway, i think that with the current VR boom, we'll see such live coverages of big events soon. Sports events of any kind, concerts, happenings... It's never going to be the real thing, but it might be the only way for those who can't attend personally for whatever reason. Lack of money, time, health issues, etc. We'll see what the future brings.