Augmented Reality in Cars: How AR Is Changing the Driving Experience

When it comes to providing drivers with relevant information about their surroundings, augmented reality (AR) could play an important role in the future.

Augmented reality (AR), which overlays digital information or virtual elements onto the real world, is known from games such as Pokemon Go. But the technology is also finding its way into motor vehicles. There are various exciting applications: wearable technology, head-up displays (HUD), or even the vehicle’s windscreen as an accurate, semi-transparent display. The difference between the last two options is that a HUD is primarily designed for the driver and is visible within a specific viewing area, while smart windscreens can potentially display information across a larger area of the windscreen. The aim in each case is to provide the occupants with relevant information.

AR as an additional output modality, combined with various input modes such as speech, gaze tracking, and gesture recognition, improves user-friendliness and offers easy access to a wide range of information. In the car, this could be sensor information, for example, to illuminate the blind spot, or it could simply be access to information such as our phone’s contact list. Advances in display technologies and their integration with head-up displays (HUDs) and AR are creating new ways to present information.

Augmented Reality in Cars: Portable or Integrated?

Augmented reality applications typically use two basic types of displays: wearables and displays integrated into the car. Wearable AR uses glasses that can overlay additional information onto the world we see. This approach can seamlessly switch between different scenarios and add context to the environment regardless of where the user is. For example, a user can park his car in a parking garage in a strange city, and the glasses then guide him directly to his final destination.

But the wearable approach not only has advantages; glasses can be a nuisance while driving. In addition, it is another device that you have to carry around with you in everyday life. There are also approaches to integrate the AR projection surface into the vehicle itself. There are two different options: video-based and windscreen-based augmented reality or head-up displays. Video-based AR systems use the image from the vehicle’s front-facing camera and lay an additional layer of information on top of it. One example is the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, which has offered an AR-based navigation system that uses the vehicle’s front camera.

As described above, head-up displays and smart windshields are screens in the driver’s natural field of vision, which can provide a wide range of information without having to take your eyes off the road. The visualizations can be presented in perspective or used to display relevant driving information within the driver’s field of view.

Why Is Ease of Use Important for AR in Cars?

Most of the advances in artificial intelligence applications provide additional input channels, such as monitoring systems in the cabin and the advanced sensor fusion functions that can process various interaction modes such as speech, gaze tracking, gestures, and more. On the other hand, AR is another output channel that can provide the vehicle user with additional, complex information in a prepared form.

An essential aspect in this context is the display surface, which has a significant impact on the possible use cases and user-friendliness: New technologies such as the “intelligent windshield” from Saint-Gobain Sekurit use the entire front window as a transparent display. As a result, the user experience can be enriched in various aspects by adding very targeted and intelligent content offers.

What Are the Use Cases of Augmented Reality in Cars?

Augmented reality technologies can be used for many applications, particularly infotainment, safety, or comfort functions. If the focus is on infotainment, the windscreen can show the user information about the visible external environment, exciting restaurants, or the offers of a newly opened café.

For convenience applications, the windshield can be used as an output channel when users interact with onboard systems or online content. This type of interaction has the advantage that the user does not have to look at the dashboard, as the information can instead be displayed within the user’s field of view.

Security is not limited to just minimizing distractions. With sensor fusion and eye-tracking technologies, the system can select the display area according to the user’s perspective. In addition, AR can be used to direct the user’s attention toward relevant information. If there is a vehicle on the road that the user should pay particular attention to, AR can highlight it.

How Could Autonomous Driving Affect the Role of AR?

As autonomous driving develops further, augmented reality could become more important. On the one hand, if future automated-driving systems reduce the need for direct driver control, there could be more opportunities for entertainment and infotainment functions. On the other hand, AR technology can play an exciting role in providing information about the maneuvers and a general understanding of the vehicle. This could potentially increase passengers’ sense of understanding and reassurance by helping them understand what the vehicle is doing. The AR information could also have a similar effect on skeptical passengers.

The data that we collect in the world is increasing. In the future, it will be important to relate this data to reality so that it can provide useful information to people. AI-based analysis methods and the optical processing of data by AR to make traffic more pleasant and safer are essential steps in this direction.

Conclusion

The use of augmented reality can provide the driver with valuable information in their line of sight. The many uses of augmented reality range from giving directions to providing information on the car’s safety features and entertainment features. Since the evolution of smart cars and driving assistance, AR could become an increasingly useful part of the driving experience. 

Also Read: How Augmented Reality Is Impacting The Eyewear Industry