Cars and Augmented reality

Advent of a New Age

Over the last number of decades we have seen major technological advances in computer graphics in terms of the quality of what we view. Sophisticated graphics advancements are now being moved into real world environments which means the future of our everyday living and interaction may be totally changed. This new technology is referred to as augmented reality. The basic idea of augmented reality is to superimpose graphics, audio and other sensory enhancements over a real-world environment in real time.

Augmented Reality in Cars

Augmented reality technology is also making its way into cars. The technology which is based on “heads up display” (HUD) technology has already been used in military jets and began appearing into high end, luxury cars in the late 1990’s. These HUDs are used to project directions or speed onto the windscreen in the driver’s line of sight with the objective that they be as unobtrusive as possible.

Into the Future

Exciting developments in terms of augmented reality have been happening in the car industry with certain car manufacturers such as BMW, Toyota, Mercedes and General Motors involved in the development of exciting, impressive prototypes. One Mercedes concept (called Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience – ‘DICE’) unveiled in 2012 facilitated a series of proximity sensors to detect hand motions in the car interior, allowing the person to scroll, select and control a variety of functions. The highlights include the ability to get information about businesses and sights around the driver, giving the ability to connect with friends nearby and while also being able to control all the standard music and navigation functionalities.

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has developed a prototype of “enhanced car windows” that would allow passengers to zoom in on places and objects of interest that they are passing.

Another concept from General Motors known as the enhanced vision system uses sensors and cameras mounted both inside and outside the vehicle to monitor the outside environment and the driver’s eye and head movements. This information is then fed to overlay the windscreen view with relevant information about driving conditions e.g. the proximity of the building you are trying to locate or hazards that you may not be aware of, such as an animal or obstruction at the side of the road.

However, the most extreme concept and perhaps a defining moment in driving technique comes from engineers at Keio University in Japan, who are working on technology that will make the back seat of a car appear transparent, so that when drivers are reversing they can see everything around them.

This concept uses cameras mounted outside the car to project an image inside the car in the driver’s line of vision. The image is shown on a reflective screen mounted behind and between the two front seats. When a driver looks back over his shoulder, he sees the “real” image out of the rear view window continued, through augmented reality.

Implications

All these augmented reality innovations would be helpful to any driver. However, more work needs to be done to work out what is the optimum and safest amount of the windscreen that can be covered with augmented reality graphics.