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Ferris Productions Takes Virtual Reality to a New Level for General Motors

8 June 2000

Ferris Productions Takes Virtual Reality to a New Level for General Motors

    DALLAS - Ferris Productions, Inc., a Phoenix-based Virtual Reality company, 
in conjunction with General Motors, has developed a totally new way to promote 
technology in the automotive industry - the "Virtual Test-drive".

    The concept of the "Virtual Test-drive" was created by Ferris for GM's
2000 Buick LeSabre "Drive with Confidence Tour".  The tour will visit cities
all across the U.S. continuing throughout the year.

    Ferris' new "Immersive" Virtual Reality experience simulates a cross-
country drive in the new Buick LeSabre.  The premise of the trip is that the
driver has picked up Buick - sponsored pro-golfer Ben Crenshaw at his New York
hotel and must drive him to a California golf course for his tee time.

    The eight minute ride places consumers in a "Catcher's Mitt" seat like
those of the LeSabre while wearing virtual reality headsets integrated and
designed by Ferris.

    Filmed in 360-degree video, the driver experiences a seamless visual
including conversations with passengers, narration and music from the car
radio, sounds outside the car and even an aroma mechanism transmitting scents
through the headgear that match the scenery.  When Crenshaw remarks on the
smell of fresh-cut grass, the scent of fresh-cut grass is released.

    "We wanted to demonstrate the newly designed and re-engineered LeSabre in
an exciting way, with a test drive as close to reality as possible; Ferris
exceeded our expectations," said Marcus Vinson - Assistant Brand Manager,
Marketing - Buick LeSabre - GM.

    Barbara Wilson from Momentum Marketing was the brainchild behind this
unusual new (VR) application designed for GM.  "Ferris brought Virtual Reality
cutting edge technology to a new level to achieve the caliber of product our
client needed -- Ferris Delivered!"

    Virtual Reality has come of age through Ferris Productions.  The uses are
as diverse as the imagination.  In the future the world will see VR used for
an unlimited range of applications including education, training,
entertainment and simulation.

    "This revolutionary technology is quite unique," said Lance Loesberg of
Ferris Production, Inc.  "Up until now, virtual reality images have been
primarily computer generated.  This new concept uses actual scenery filmed in
360-degrees."  Since computers track each participant's movement, no two
experiences are the same.  Ferris' R & D is already well on its way to making
the (real) virtual world interactive.

    Ferris Productions, founded in 1993, is one of the world's leading
creators and manufacturers of Virtual Reality (VR) products and systems for
the entertainment, simulation, promotion and education industries.  Ferris
offers hardware and software applications for both interactive and non-
interactive Immersive Virtual Reality Systems, to clients worldwide including
Pepsi, GM, Six Flags, Paramount Parks, and IBM.

    As a pioneer in VR, Ferris is always researching new and useful
applications for this unique technology.