A virtual driving experience showing what it is like to be behind the wheel of a racing car has been created by to show off the work of university students in Telford.
The video has been produced using a 360-degree camera in the cockpit of the University of Wolverhampton’s Formula 3 car.
Students from the Priorslee campus of the University of Wolverhampton have built the car themselves to run in this year’s F3 championship, taking part as UWRacing.
The new video brings racing fans about as close as they can get to the feeling of hurtling around a track at speeds in excess of 120mph and provides an insight into the life of the world’s top Formula 1 drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
The university is the only one in the country which has a team competing in the Formula 3 Cup Championship.
Dave Allen, digital and creative services manager in external relations at the University of Wolverhampton, said: “We’ve created our first 360-degree video to really showcase what our engineering courses offer – giving potential students the chance to virtually see what it’s like to sit in and drive an F3 racing car around a world-famous track.
“The university has invested £10 million in engineering facilities at our Telford Innovation Campus and the new virtual video shows off our drive towards innovative, hands-on education for students.
“Our venture into yet another new realm of technology is very exciting and will provide people with a completely new – and panoramic – perspective on engineering.”
Engineering students at the university are heavily involved in its race team which are taking part in the F3 Cup Championship and is so far dominating the grid.
They are taught how to run a car professionally to the standard of a Formula 1 team under the help and guidance of professional motorsport engineer, Matt Fenton, and professional driver and team mentor, Shane Kelly. The team competes in all rounds across the season at world famous tracks.
– Shropshirestar
