Phygital Racing – HURA delivers a Grand Prix experience for all

Last year, Phygital International and HURA signed an agreement to work together on developing a new competition platform that would allow participants of all ages and abilities to enjoy the thrills of immersive Grand Prix-style racing. Here, HURA’s co-founder Karl Lind-Val talks about the company’s inspiration and ambitions.

Can you give us a simple explanation of what HURA is and how it works for someone who’s never heard of it before?
HURA provides phygital remote driving solutions. Our core concept is HURA Racing, an experience that bridges the gap between video games and traditional racing. The drivers sit in a professional cockpit and control the vehicles. And those vehicles can be as much as   1500km away. Cameras mounted on the cars give the driver a first-person view. Low-latency technology, combined with sensors and the actual physics of driving a real vehicle, creates the experience of sitting inside it. At HURA, we aim to provide the driving experience closest to actually stepping into a real racing car.

What was the original inspiration behind founding HURA, and what gap in the market were you trying to fill?
We love cars and we love racing, but traditional racing has a large barrier to entry, and sim-racing is by definition, a simulation. At HURA we seek to remove the barriers to real racing and create a new sport that is more accessible, safer and exciting.

What makes HURA’s simulation technology genuinely different from other racing products already on the market?
In short, our technology. We have created the most powerful remote driving hardware which gives unrivaled performance and allows for remote driving on a completely new scale. The FPV (first-person view) provides an amazingly immersive experience.

Who is the target audience for HURA right now – hardcore sim racers, casual fans, esports players, or someone else entirely?
The target audience is all of the above and more. HURA is for everyone, young and old, experienced and novice. By leveraging our knowledge of racing and gaming, combined with our state-of-the-art technology, HURA provides a racing experience that everyone can enjoy.

What does a typical HURA competition look like from a spectator’s perspective?
Thanks to the built-in cameras on the HURA vehicles, spectators can see exactly what the driver sees. This offers spectators an easy way to follow the race directly from the cockpit. The spectator can also switch between the driver’s POV or witness a combination of track cameras and the car’s POV. We’re actully working on a way for spectators using VR to experience the race from the car itself.

How much physical skill is involved versus digital strategy? How do you balance those two elements in competition design?
For us, both elements carry the same weight. With this in mind, we create a digital environment that’s easy to understand and a physical setup that allows drivers to develop and use their physical skills and reflexes to become the best driver they can be. Thanks to our setup we can also offer racing to people with physical limitations, people who could never even do go-karting.

How can HURA’s racing systems be adapted for public arenas – what would that setup look like at scale?
Since the vehicles are real, you can watch the race live. Thanks to the vehicles’ scale, you can actually see more of the race rather than just a small section. And since we provide an FPV from the vehicle’s perspective as well as cameras showing the driver’s, spectators can follow the cars and the cockpit simultaneously.

How do you see the phygital racing format evolving over the next five years?
With the launch of HURA GP, our racing platform and tournament format, we want to offer HURA to a larger audience and lower the barrier for phygital racing. We see phygital racing gaining a bigger presence and becoming a world-renowned sport.

Are there opportunities for brands or sponsors to integrate into the HURA competition format?
Yes, both by branding on the cars, sponsoring broadcasts or even sponsoring and owning their own racing team. There can be so many possibilities.

For more information about HURA, visit the official website.