MINI Augmented Vision – a new view of the world

Here’s a new way of looking at things, through augmented reality eyewear. MINI will be previewing a prototype of its MINI Augmented Vision glasses at Auto Shanghai 2015.

Developed in collaboration with several Qualcomm companies and shaped by Designworks for the brand, the AR eyewear utilises see-through technology to display relevant information in the driver’s direct field of vision without concealing other road users.

A number of functions can be projected into the field of view with the MINI AR glasses, and these include head-up display functions such as speed display and speed limits. The information is placed in the driver’s primary field of view, with data always shown in same place above the steering wheel to ensure that no road users are concealed from sight.

Another function is contact-analogue navigation display, in which navigation arrows are viwed “on” the road, so the driver can always stay focused on driving and on the traffic. The projection can also feature points of interest – such as potential parking spaces and petrol stations – along the route.

Parking assist is also in the mix – this is accomplished by projecting the images from a camera housed in the (farside) mirror into the eyewear. In this manner, the distance from the curb can be clearly and easily ascertained. No more scraping those wheels then.

There’s also a novelty called X-Ray View/transparent vehicle parts, in which a virtual view is provided through parts of the vehicle (such as A-pillars and doors) – the feature supposedly serves to render external areas or objects concealed by the car visible. That should be a pretty neat visual trick.

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