This Racing Sim Is So Realistic It Can Break Your Wrists

That tricked out racing wheel your rich friend had back in grade school? That's nothing compared to CXC Simulation's Motion Pro II. Not only does it have a wrap around screen, force-feedback on the wheels, and motors that will jostle the chair around. It's actually so powerful that a virtual crash could give you real injuries if you're not careful.

Before you get too jazzed (or scared) you should know this rig is almost certainly not for you. It's an absolutely top-of-the-line piece of equipment and it carries that sort of price tag: $54,000. But for the cost of one expensive car, the rig can emulate more than 1,000, down to the very feel of the tires. As for what you're driving on, the Motion Pro II comes with a number of real-life tracks scanned in with millimeter accuracy. Tracks that you drive using a vibrating, force-feedback steering wheel and gear shifter, while staring at the three-TV, 1080p, 60-degree FOV screen.

"IF YOU HIT THE WALL IN AN INDY CAR AND DON'T TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF THE WHEEL, YOU'LL BREAK YOUR WRISTS."

Some simulators try to mimic the feeling of being in a race car by moving the entirety of the seat around, but the Motion Pro II takes a more targeted approach. According to CXC Simulation's research, the most effective way to fool the brain into thinking it was experiencing race-like G-forces wasn't to try and emulate them in total, but to focus on quick bursts of movement targeted at the head and torso, where drivers report feeling Gs the most. That, plus mechanisms to realistically yank the seat belt, and vibrate just about every part of the simulator according to what real-life jostle would feel like.

The result is some serious power. The steering wheel can deliver 16 newton-meters of force if it's dialed up all the way. CXC Simulation talked to IEEE Spectrum about their newest simulator, and explained exactly what that means. According to founder and ex-racer Chris Considine:

If you hit the wall in an Indy Car and don't take your hands off the wheel, you'll break your wrists. Our wheel is a one-to-one replication of that, but we don't turn it up that high. It's the first time we've been able to replicate racing forces so high that it introduces liability questions.

If you're in for that ride though, the Motion Pro II is waiting for you. You and your buddies, if you wanna team up to shell out of a multiplayer pack of up to four of the things. For most of us, Grand Turismo is probably plenty, but the toys out there for pros are clearly totally insane.

Source: CXC Simulations via IEEE Spectrum