Polyphony Digital has attached the moniker of “Real Driving Simulator” to their flagship Gran Turismo for quite a while now. They’ve taken that a step further with the development of a new feature in Gran Turismo 6. As GTPlanet.net reported, the GPS Data Visualizer is not a feature many of us will ever use, however, for car enthusiasts and ‘weekend warriors,’ it is invaluable.
The GPS Data Visualizer, when paired with a compatible ECU (Engine Control Unit), allow drivers to replay and analyze their real world driving on a real world track that’s in GT6. Not just a telemetry screen with graphs displaying information such as throttle/brake position and speed, the GPS Data Visualizer provides a fully rendered replay for the driver to fully analyze their real world driving. This is the sort of data analysis used by top tier racing teams, now available to anyone with a PlayStation 3 and GT6 at hand.
The idea is that drivers can use their real world data and Gran Turismo 6 to improve their driving and lower their lap times in the real world using this innovative tool. Gran Turismo 6’s all new physics engine is what helps to make this sort of technology possible as it allows the data to be far more trustworthy than previous versions of the game. A driver will is able to achieve a much higher pace in a virtual environment as they’re able to drive without fear, however; in the real world the threat of real crashes will dramatically impact the lap times they set. The GPS Data Visualizer will help drivers get closer to the ideal lap time.
As an example of how effective this feature is, Polyphony Digital have posted a video demonstration using professional drifter Dai Yohihara at the helm of a 2013 Scion FR-S. The video on the left is actual onboard video from Yoshihara’s lap and the right is the GPS Data Visualizer’s recreation of the video on the left.
