WayRay has unveiled what it says is the world’s first car with ground-breaking holographic AR (augmented reality) glazing. The battery-electric concept vehicle called Holograktor highlights the company’s True AR holographic displays.

Backed by early investments from the likes of Porsche, Hyundai, and Alibaba, WayRay says it is using the car to emerge from its “deep tech” automotive supplier status into the world of new-mobility models. Conceived for ride-hailing, the three-seater is designed to be driven conventionally or remotely via 5G and satellite Internet connections by a qualified driver.

Taking up a tenth of the in-dash space of a conventional HUD (head-up display), the car’s True AR holographic displays are said to deliver crucial upgrades in distance to virtual content, color saturation, and accuracy. WayRay says it is the only company capable of designing and manufacturing the complex displays, which are based on its Deep Reality Display technology and render the content in real-time around the car using the True AR rendering engine software.

The two technologies enable the generation of virtual images at any distance and on multiple depth planes by projecting a RGB (red-green-blue) laser beam through a PGU (Picture Generating Unit) onto an HOE (Holographic Optical Element). The HOE is placed inside a transparent surface, commonly a car’s windscreen or side window. Drivers receive relevant information and alerts without having to take their eyes off the road, and passengers can enjoy animated points-of-interest along the way. All objects are rendered in real-time by the ARRE (AR Rendering Engine).

“We see that we have zero competition in that type of displays, and it is clear that we will capture the biggest market share,” said Vitaly Ponomarev, Founder & CEO, WayRay. “We will demonstrate that we don’t want to just be a supplier to the industry, but the technology leader in holography in general, particularly in automotive.”

 

Designed for Zoomers

According to Ponomarev, the Holograktor is the first car to be designed around content consumption and interaction, as well as holographic glazing.

“This is a car designed specifically for Zoomers,” he said, referring to members of Generation Z, those born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “It’s for people who want to play and want to create and consume content.“

Its unusual single-rear-seat “throne” layout was inspired by data showing that more than 80% of Uber trips were for one person only.

“The idea is that you can choose Uber Black, Uber SUV, or Uber Holograktor, and if you choose the Holograktor, your ride will be subsidized by sponsored content, so the price will be much lower,” said Ponomarev.

 

Russian constructivism

A major design challenge with the car was combining the large interior space with a well-proportioned exterior, all while staying in line with all current and approaching regulations. The strong triangular shapes and solid stance are said to be a nod to the Russian backgrounds of WayRay founder Ponomarev and the car’s designer, Sasha Selipanov, whose credits include work on the Lamborghini Huracán, Genesis Essentia, Bugatti Chiron, and Koenigsegg Gemera.

“We right away zeroed in on this Russian constructivism form language,” said Selipanov, who is also Head of Design at Koenigsegg Automotive AB and Co-Founder (along with Christian Von Koenigsegg) & Head of Design at RAW Design House. “If you have those early Soviet posters in mind, you can see those brightly colored geometric shapes of triangles and blocks. Coincidentally, the triangular form is reminiscent of a prism, like the Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ album cover. It is a light-ray aesthetic that comes with the triangularity and the prism-like effect, which is just perfectly appropriate for a car built to highlight holography.”

The triangle is a dominant design theme from the 22-in wheels to the laser headlights and taillights.

While the front doors of the car open conventionally with a slight upward angle, the rear doors contain an integrated B-pillar and open rearwards and upwards for easy access to all three seats. Part of the roof is integrated into the rear doors, giving rear-seat passengers an even easier way to get in and out.

Selipanov, a Georgian native who grew up in Moscow and was trained at the prestigious ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, CA, came to work on the Holograktor car via an Instagram message.

“I saw a message from Vitaly on Instagram in my inbox that said, ‘Hey! Would you like to catch up and brainstorm about a potential collaboration?’” he said. “Outside of being obsessed with sports cars, I’m a science geek and a bit of a physics nerd, and the fact that his company was playing around with deep-tech ideas and bringing them to customers around the world was hugely exciting.”

 

The Shrimp

Nicknamed “the Shrimp,” the boxy shape on the car’s roof is there for two reasons: to make it clear to anybody who sees the car that the Holograktor is very different from any other car on the road, and to house the holographic system for the rear passenger.

“It’s a unique selling point, and I think it makes sense to celebrate things that are unusual,” said Selipanov. “Functional breakthroughs such as this one rarely happen, so instead of trying to hide it, we thought we should highlight it. It’s a conversation starter as much as a design feature, and it jumps out that this car is somehow not like the rest, and so it initiates a conversation about the True AR technology.”

Packaging and ergonomics constraints led the design team to place the Shrimp on the roof. The location puts it at the ideal focal length for the rear-seat passenger. Even with the holographic system needing less than 3 L (183 in³) instead of the more than 20 L (1220 in³) required by conventional HUDs, it was decided to prioritize ride-hailing capability over hiding the technology.

“There were not many options in terms of packaging the Shrimp inside the car,” said Selipanov. “We were constrained by the occupant package and the eye box field-of-view of the rear passenger. We considered a small dashboard-like volume for the rear seat instead, but once the three-seat layout was confirmed, we couldn’t obstruct the doorway or pathway to the seat.”

There is no Shrimp for the front passengers, though, as the WayRay True AR technology sits within the dashboard, aiming up at the windscreen, where the Shrimp’s projections aim down from the roof.

While a concept, the car has been engineered and designed to be developed into a production reality with an estimated range of 600 km (373 mi). Though shorter than a typical compact SUV, it is said to be far larger inside. Key exterior dimensions are a 4416-mm (173.9-in) length, 2880-mm (113.4-in) wheelbase, 2023-mm (79.6-in) width (excluding rear cameras), and 1583-mm (62.3-in) height (including the Shrimp).

Since it was conceived as a ride-hailing car, the company says that its acceleration times are less important than its comfort and technology. However, it can accelerate from rest to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.9 s using a single electric motor. Top speed is limited to 200 km/h (124 mph).

 

Single-rear-seat “throne”

The single-rear-seat “throne” 2+1 seating arrangement has the front seats pushed apart to provide all three occupants with a clear view of holographic displays. To accommodate ride-hailing applications, all of the car’s glazing is engineered around True AR technology.

“None of the OEMs have designed that so far, so it’s very radical,” said Selipanov.

Each passenger has access to several Deep Reality Display HUDs, in front and on the side, with each seat being fitted with joysticks for gaming and to interact with content.

“The occupant in the back must look out of the windshield, which is why the driver and the passenger in the front seats are spaced out as much as possible,” said Selipanov. “We have 500 mm between the center of the driver’s seat the centerline of the car, which is about 100-150 mm more per side than any normal passenger car would have. The driver and the passenger are spaced out further so whoever is in the back gets a good view of the windshield and its True AR functionality.”

Another key aspect of the car’s technical suite is its ability to be driven remotely using the car’s cameras, radar, mapping, and sensor suites, leaving the passengers to relax without relying on “immature” autonomous-driving systems. That left the question of what to do with the steering wheel, which WayRay solved by sliding it forward and fitting it into a groove in the dashboard.

“We have seen a few innovative concepts of how steering wheels can fold away out of view, but we didn’t want to come up with something ridiculous just for the sake of it,” Selipanov said. “When it’s disengaged, the steering wheel slides into the dashboard and becomes almost seamless with the rest of the interior. The reason is simple: ultimately there will be an airbag there, and the airbag should remain deployable.”

 

Homologation and white label

WayRay’s ambition is to homologate and release the car in about four years.

“That depends very much on the perception of the market,” said Ponomarev. “It could be, though, that we just use it as a white label concept to help other OEMs to make cars like this with our True AR technology.”

Earlier this week, WayRay announced an example of how it would work with an OEM. The company is collaborating with Karma Automotive to integrate its AR HUD technology in a fleet of future Karma vehicles.

“WayRay’s technology will make driving vehicles safer, more informative, and entertaining,” said Shen Zhang, Vice President, Electrical and Electronics Engineering for Karma Automotive. “Safety, design, and integration are our main priorities, and this innovative technology delivers on all counts.”

WayRay’s projection system will be customized and integrated into a fleet of Karma test vehicles but is also compact enough to fit into cars of any size.

Beyond Karma passenger vehicles, WayRay says that other possible applications for Holographic AR technology can also be integrated into transportation, infrastructure, heavy machinery, and gaming applications.