Augmented reality at the service of the automobile

The dashboard of our vehicles has been completely transformed over the years. It was very simple not so long ago and it is sometimes a mess today.

After tablets and touch screens, another technology is arriving in cars: augmented reality.

Augmented reality is a very trendy techno term. It can be described simply as adding graphics and animation to our environment. A well-known example is the game Pokemon Go! We search for critters in our surroundings using the camera of our phone.

Another example: masks and filters on messaging applications.

The advantages in the car

Inevitably, in the car, we left aside the playful aspect of augmented reality. This will of course be to facilitate navigation, like LIVE VIEW in Google Maps.

The idea here is to add navigational information on top of what you see. It’s handy to clearly see the name of a street… but also exactly where it is, with arrows that show us the direction to follow.

Establishment in the automotive world is done in a similar way. A company like PHIAR offers just this kind of display.

We will have, sometimes on a screen, sometimes projected on the windshield, directions and contextual information. The difference with a normal GPS mapping system is that the display is where you would see it if it were in “real life”.

It can greatly improve our browsing and tracking experience. However, it’s all in the dosage. Too much information sometimes kills information. It is important to dose, but it can be very practical in places where the signage is faulty or where it is very difficult to locate a business or an address.

As everything goes fast in techno, what could be next? Obviously, with connected cars and smart cities, we could end up with what Samsung imagined, with a ton of information available. We are oddly close to the video game. To be taken with a certain distance, it is only conceptual, but it remains interesting.

It’s a truly fascinating technology, if the information displayed is clear, precise and well balanced… and when implementing it, the needs of the motorist must always be kept in mind, which must be at the heart of the development. Because abuse could make the experience difficult.

So, are you getting in your car?


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