The game features a physical racetrack with gliders hovering above the track using an effect called quantum levitation, or Meissner effect. According to the scientists, liquid-nitrogen-cooled superconductors enable the vehicles to resemble the real experience of the video game. In the future, the researchers said, they hope to "revolutionize the world of motor transport".
However, before you get excited and get your checkbook ready, there is some doubt whether this is an actual video or just a computer animation produced by Sony to advertise an upcoming Wipecout came that could be called "Wipeout Quantum". There is lots of detail in the video, including a description of the employed effect, as well as liquid-cooled vehicles and an elaborate racetrack that give the quantum track credibility, but the elaborate use of Sony trademarks may raise doubt. Some pointed out the liquid nitrogen vapor that simply looks to consistent for a real world scenario and may be part of a computer-generated simulation. The entire animation has a very professional appearance that typically is not seen in scientific videos.
A detail that wipes out any hope to get this track under the 2012 Christmas tree is the fact that there is a "Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology" (JAIST), but the "Japan Institute of Science and Technology" appears to be a fabricated organization that lends some short-term credibility to what is, admittedly, a stunning animation. Sony, could we please get this racetrack instead of the video game?
