WayRay Holograktor ride-sharing concept revealed

Swiss deep-tech firm WayRay may have taken the car industry into all-new holographic territory with its Holograktor ride-sharing concept car.

Revealed overnight in Europe, the autonomous WayRay Holograktor electric taxi comes with three separate ‘Real Augmented Reality’ holographic displays – one for each of its occupants.

Porsche and Hyundai were both early investors in WayRay, which began life in Russia before moving to Zurich in Switzerland, though neither of them is likely to be the first to deliver its holographic tech in a production car.

Designed by Koenigsegg’s head designer Sasha Selipanov, the 4.4-metre Holograktor could even find itself in production if there is enough positive reaction to its prismatic shapes – and its enlarged roof attachment.

Dubbed the ‘Shrimp’ internally, the external shape on the roof houses the holographic projection system for the rear seat’s single occupant, and projects on to the specialised front windscreen.

If that’s not enough technology, the Holograktor was conceived as a car that can be driven conventionally or by remote control over a 5G link to a qualified driver.

It’s also the first vehicle conceived to take the car industry into the metaverse, with occupants able to react with the holographic content.

Built to highlight the maturing of the WayRay technology, the autonomous taxi concept could even result in discounted fares for people who use the Holograktor’s additional screens highlighting local businesses or advertising.

But the main reason it exists is to showcase the holographic technology, which would replace existing head-up displays and takes up less than three litres of volume in a dashboard compared to the 25-30 litres that are typical in a luxury car.

It also doesn’t need a special extra screen to display the projections on, because the WayRay system blends a specially treated layer into the dashboard’s laminates and bounces off that instead.

WayRay insists the system sets new standards in colour saturation, accuracy and focal length, which runs from zero to infinity. That means it can begin displaying signs or advice at the horizon and grow them as the car approaches.

“We see that we have zero competition in that type of display and it is clear that we will capture the biggest market share,” WayRay founder Vitaly Ponomarev said.

“We have the advantage in technology and the package. Ours is up to 10 times smaller than conventional HUDs.

“It’s also very immersive and provides a better field of view and it has the ideal distance,” the Russian entrepreneur explained.

“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.”

The Holograktor was designed around WayRay’s Real AR and holography systems, which explains why it is so wide and why there is only one rear seat.

The entire car was conceived as a new way of “consuming and interacting” with content, as well as moving the HUD world on, said the company.

“This is a car that has been designed specifically for zoomers,” Ponomarev said.

“It’s for people who want to play and want to consume content, and we are assembling the content now that we want to show inside the car.

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

Riding on a 2880mm wheelbase and measuring just 4416mm long, the Holograktor has suicide doors that swing slightly upwards and rear doors that include a roof cutout to enable easier entry into the centrally located seat.

Its single electric motor will shoot it to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds and on to 200km/h, but Ponomarev suggests the powertrain is hardly relevant.

Despite being shorter than a compact SUV, it’s larger and wider inside with front seats almost half a metre apart to give the rear seat occupant a better view of the windscreen’s AR display. Each passenger has their own version of the AR display on the windscreen.

“My ambition is to release this car five years from now and make it homologated,” Ponomarev said. “That depends very much on the perception of the market.

“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 technology.”