Green Driving Test

Skive was approached by Ogilvy to recreate the BP Ultimate Green Driving Test both on and offline. This is a real experience which takes place at Millbrook with a specially adapted Ford S-Max car, and demonstrates that it's often the driver and not the car that has the greatest effect on fuel consumption.

With 1 litre of fuel, the participant must test their "Green driving habits" through a variety of terrain around a 7.8 mile closed course, with special equipment measuring and logging instantaneous and cumulative fuel consumption based on performance.

When a driver has completed the course the data is analysed and compared to a 'perfect run' by a professional driver, highlighting where and how their driving could be improved in a table showing data such as average MPG and how much extra fuel they required.

The test has proved a powerful toll in educating drivers to drive more efficiently, so Ogilvy wanted to reach more customers by recreating it online, and converting it to a portable console version that could be used at events.

There were many challenges in developing this ambitious project. skive was heavily involved in the planning and scoping process, and production began with the filming of the Millbrook track itself.

In order to create a linear timescale and acceptable frame rate across various playback speeds, the course was filmed from a car travelling at a low and constant speed. An HD camera was rigged on a 4x4 utilising hill descent and cruise control, which maintained a constant low speed through automatic acceleration and braking over the steepest of gradients.

Segments of the resulting footage were then edited into four 'sections', and displayed 'through the windscreen' of the main game interface.

We then developed a real-time physics engine to calculate the continuous states of velocity, acceleration, aerodynamic drag, rolling resistances, internal engine friction, and track position from the various inputs, including accelerator and brake position, gear selection, and track geometry.

Another challenge was to get the game working on the Vision Racer unit - the same driving simulator professional race drivers use to hone their skills and learn race circuits.

Integrating the steering wheel controls into the game was tricky: the Logitech steering wheel had the ability to remap inputs from the steering wheel into keyboard buttons, but it only gave a digital response rather than an analogue one. We also needed to know how far down the accelerator was being pushed - as opposed to whether it was being pushed or not.

So far the simulator units have been used at international motorshows in Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona.

For many years BP has used events such as these to communicate to consumers the benefits BP Ultimate by using a range of demonstration tools.

The Green Driving Simulator complements this activity by allowing BP to be seen as a responsible corporate player, while giving it an opportunity to interact with consumers and deliver its advanced fuels messaging.

The units were well received and feedback was positive. Some aspects of the game are being revised for future events and the online version is nearing completion.