There have been hints towards car manufacturers incorporating augmented reality (AR) into their designs – take Toyota for example. They patented an AR screen which shows up real-tine lane positioning information. Now, this idea has materialised much more than ever before, as Mercedes showed off its Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 with an AR windscreen.
Below is what Mercedes imagines the interior of the car to look like, before showing it off at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance which took place one day ago now. The windshield will present the driver with all of the information that they would normally get from both the dashboard and other devices such as a SatNav. Mapping information, which will be imposed over what you can see in the real world, will be a feature, as well as it being controlled by hand gestures.
One question that comes to mind immediately is how safe this really could be – will it distract from driving? What would it mean if the computer malfunctions? And will the hand gestures not make driving all that more dangerous?
Either way, it will be interesting to see how this car is received now that it has been officially shown at the event, and to see other manufactureres adopt this idea.
For more on the latest AR technology developments, as well as all the news, updates, and features in the world of VR, make sure to check back with VRFocus.
