AR and VR will soon join you on your Lyft rides

Some of the patent applications submitted by Lyft hint the ride-sharing company’s plans to integrate AR and VR into its rides. One of the patents, filed in 2017, is dedicated to providing passengers a “virtual reality transportation experience.”  The IT service would also respond to real-world forces and events like sudden stops and turns, and eventually, it will be able to ‘predict’ those bumps and turns in the road.

The VR system would also predict the inertial forces that the passenger will experience during the ride, based on the previous inertial forces the vehicles have experienced for the same turns, merges, stops, etc. But there is also something the system could do that may sound mildly horrifying. The system may also include “virtual collisions with objects, virtual turns, virtual drops, etc,” the application read.

Lyft’s other patent application for an augmented reality transportation system is more about practical information. The AR software analyzes historical information to identify an ideal pickup location for passengers based on their current location, traffic conditions, and transportation restrictions. Interestingly, the system could also generate virtual objects to overlay on a passenger’s real-world surroundings to help with deciding on the pick-up or drop-off location.

In simple words, Lyft is trying to use the troves of data it has gathered in its six years of operation to make the pick-up and drop-off process as seamless as possible.