Gotta Try ’em All: App Turns Your Smartphone Into A Virtual Driving Machine

They say that boys never grow up, their toys just keep getting bigger, but in this instance, the toys are actually smaller. How small is that? It all depends on the size of your phone or tablet, but you get the idea.

At this point, you’re probably thinking ‘okay, another car video game’, but that’s not the case here, as this app creator is using augmented reality to project a 3D version of a car straight on your smartphone. It works by reading the surrounding environment using the phone/tablet camera and then spawns a vehicle of your choice right in front of you.

You can interact with it in a number of different ways, including walking around the vehicle, go inside and even change the colors instantly. However, the most interesting feature is that you can virtually drive the cars. The 3D renders are processed onto the screen of your device at 60 frames per second (as long as it supports it), and elements such as the user’s motion, reflections and driving physics are all taken into account.

Compatible with iOS and Android, the app is called Aerolarri and includes a variety of high-end vehicles, from the regular Chevrolet Corvette C8, Lexus LC 500, Dodge Challenger SRT Demon and Porsche 911, to the Ford GT, Nissan GT-R, Acura NSX, Koenigsegg Gemera and Jesko, Bloodhound LSR and the Aerolarri Bernoulli, the company’s own concept car.

The app also lets users spec most of those vehicles in real time with HoloSpect wheels from Forgeline. They can change the wheel style, size and color, and adjust the fender gap.

You can download the app from the App Store and Google Play, but note that you’ll have to pay a $7.99 yearly subscription to get all those features plus any future vehicle additions, with the free version being limited to two sets of HoloSpect wheels and the Bernoulli demo.