Use Cases

Volvo Cars: Vehicle Test Drive in Mixed Reality

Volvo Cars, renowned for next‑generation safety and design leadership, collaborated with Varjo to pioneer the world’s first mixed‑reality test drive, combining real cars with immersive photorealistic visuals on a public road.

Solution

Volvo engineers used a Varjo XR-series mixed reality headset to drive a real XC90 at a test track while virtual elements like future dashboards, displays, or environmental scenarios (e.g. virtual vehicles or wildlife) were overlaid with human-eye resolution and ultra‑low latency.

Additionally, integrated eye‑tracking enabled precise, data-driven insights into driver attention when interacting with virtual UIs and safety alerts

Benefits and Impact

• Real-time design evaluation: Test display layouts, material finishes, and UX features in-car and on the road long before physical prototypes exist.

• Faster iteration: Adjust and validate concepts in hours instead of weeks.

• Seamless realism: Virtual elements blend naturally with the real world, even while driving.

• Advanced UX research: Eye-tracking provides direct data on driver focus, distraction, and interaction with virtual controls in a real driving context 

• Lower costs: Cuts the need for multiple physical mockups and speeds up safety validation.