Nope.  It’s not from Sony, but from the Japanese auto giant Toyota.  Toyota has recently unveiled  this massive ‘playstation’ to the public, but this giant gadget is no toy.  It’s a driving simulator.  It is designed to analyze driving characteristics under conditions such as falling asleep at the wheel and drowsiness, fatigue or illness, as well as developing active safety technology for effectively reducing the number of accidents.

No coin needed.

This massive driving simulator,  located at Toyota’s Higashifuji Technical Centre in Japan, uses a real car placed on a platform housed inside a 7.1-metre-diameter dome, the inside of which serves as a giant 360-degree video screen.   This virtual reality dome, which tilts, vibrates, and can be moved around an area the equivalent of four tennis courts, provides one of the world’s most-realistic simulated driving environments allowing driving habits and reactions to be accurately gauged.  The designers say the simulator gives the same sensations of driving, including a sense of speed, acceleration and riding comfort through turns and other driving maneuvers.  Plus, the simulator’s sound effects make the experience even more real.  (It’s the world’s biggest playstation.  The engineers have the latest version of Gran Turismo plugged into it, haven’t they?…)

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