Most people have some kind of driving playlist that they like to listen to on road trips, but now Volkswagen will create one for you as you’re driving.
The app doesn’t create a playlist that starts each time you turn on the car, but actually plays music that reacts to your every action behind the wheel. Speed around a corner and so will the music. Take is slow and steady and your tunes will follow suit.
It’s all part of a collaboration between Volkswagen and the band Underworld and is designed to work in the Golf GTI. The app collects data through your smartphone connection. It gets things like speed and RPMs from the car’s onboard computer but goes even further.
Your acceleration and location are calculated through a combination of the accelerometer, GPS and gyroscope built into your phone. And location does matter because it even takes that in to account when choosing what you’ll hear.
All that data is then used to create your one-of-a-kind musical experience using a music programming language called Pure Data. Volkswagen worked with Underworld to create a variety of different pieces of music that would play as one unified track during your drive.
Unfortunately, this app isn’t something that the public can take advantage of right now. They’re currently using it as part of a contest to promote the new Volkswagen GTI MK7. One lucky person is going to get a chance to drive the car on a special track day and let the app create their own personal track.
There’s no real reason that we couldn’t see something like this in our cars in the future, and one not far off. Most people have a smartphone already so all Volkswagen would need to do is open this up for the public and, voila, we’re all making our own music as we drive.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.
