Tag: ar technology

Augmented reality head-up displays provide futuristic driver guidance

| September 11, 2013

Pioneer is taking steps to provide a high quality HUD navigation experience for motorists.

Until now, a high quality head-up display experience has been more of a concept, than what is actually provided, but Pioneer is seeking to combine new technologies, such as augmented reality, to bring this experience to life.

The company is using its NavGate HUD to provide drivers with real time, helpful guidance.

The Pioneer NavGate HUD brings together the connectivity of a smartphone with augmented reality in order to provide a driver with a virtual 30 inch display of helpful data that appears to be floating just a few feet in front of the hood of the vehicle.

The use of augmented reality helps to overcome the need to display the data on the windshield.


Previous head-up display experiences have failed to achieve their full potential because they use graphics that appear to be from three decades ago, and are displayed on a transparent sticker or onto the windshield itself. The surface – whether it be the windshield or a sticker – needs to be specially treated in order to reflect the blocky pixels for the display. However In this case, Pioneer has dumped that concept altogether in favor of a Digital Light Processing system that is mounted on the visor. It then projects data, through augmented reality, onto a clear plastic sheet within the field of view of the driver.

This use of augmented reality has been compared to the type of display that a fighter jet pilot would see, only this is usable to the driver of a regular family sized vehicle. The display can provide the driver with a number of different information options, such as turn-by-turn navigation, which incorporates data from lane placement to the vehicle’s current speed, the actual speed limit of the road, the current time, speed and red light cameras along the way, and an estimated time of arrival (and estimated distance) for reaching the intended destination.

Sensors in the device are able to detect the ambient light so that the augmented reality display brightness will be appropriate regardless of whether it is daytime or nighttime. A dedicated app is responsible for controlling these types of features.

As of yet, Pioneer has not named the specific smartphones that are supported by NavGate to provide the augmented reality display experience. However, what is known is that it is connected to the device through a very long USB cable. The device will launch next month with iGo Primo and CoPilot navigation support.

Augmented reality to play key role in automaker marketing

| September 9, 2013

The goal of the use of the technology is to encourage people to return to the showrooms.

As a growing number of consumers look to the internet, instead of physical showrooms, to help to make their purchasing decisions when it comes to their next cars, SUVs and pickup trucks, auto manufacturers are using new technologies, such as augmented reality, to rebuild the appeal of visiting the dealerships.

This is becoming especially important when marketing to Millenials, the next auto consumer generation.

Autotrader.com recently conducted a survey which discovered that Millenials are notably more likely to rely on word of mouth research than the Baby Boomer generation would. Furthermore, Millenials are also much more likely than Baby Boomers to go out of their way to try to avoid having to talk to the staff at a dealership when they do actually visit a showroom. This makes technology such as augmented reality vitally important to helping the dealerships to share the same amount of information, without necessarily requiring a person to person discussion.

Augmented reality can offer an interactive, informative experience, without a sales person’s assistance.

Augmented Reality to play key roleAccording to the Research and Marketing Analytics senior director, Isabelle Helms, “Millennials view the dealership as a key piece of their research process — they’re looking for experts to help answer their questions and to touch and test out the physical car before making a purchase.” She also went on to add that “That said, millennials want time and space to make the right decision, and will value the salespeople who provide the information they seek in a no-pressure way.”

Because of this, the visits to showrooms have been dropping over the last few years, which has limited the ability of automakers to show off all of the ways in which their vehicles stand out and can benefit the consumer. As this could lead to a potentially dangerous climate for automakers (particularly in the current retail environment), manufacturers have started embracing technologies such as augmented reality to attract buyers to the showrooms and to enchant them in the same way as a salesperson would, but without necessarily having to talk to that individual.

Both Toyota and Cadillac have been extensively exploring the potential advantages of augmented reality. They can provide a consumer with a three dimensional view of a vehicle – similar to what they would experience in a showroom – with considerably more detail than a standard two-dimensional image. The experience will also provide the viewer with additional information about a particular vehicle model.

This could make augmented reality an exceptionally powerful tool, particularly among Millenials and others who are seeking the showroom experience, without the salesperson.