Augmented and virtual reality, AR and VR respectively, have a lot of people excited, especially in the video game and entertainment industries. But have you considered what they could do in the automotive world?
A new report by ABI Research predicts that AR and VR automotive applications will bring greater safety and “intuitive activity” to driving, ultimately allowing an easier transition to autonomous vehicles.
AR Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) may soon “paint” 3D navigation instructions onto road geometry. Moving obstacles like pedestrians and other vehicles may be highlighted to enhance trust in their vehicles autonomous operation as the vehicle proves its awareness of its surroundings.
ABI predicts that by 2025, more than 15 million AR HUDs will ship with more than 11 million to be embedded solutions.
“Automotive OEMs need to address technological challenges before AR HUDs hit the mainstream market,” said Dominique Bonte, VP at ABI. “These include how to capture and interpret road geometry through computing intensive sensor fusion, precise vehicle positioning, laser projection, driver monitoring via inward facing cameras and designing sophisticated algorithms to generate precise augmentation content in the viewing field of the driver.”
Companies like Ford, Hyundai and Audi have proven AR technology in concepts like AR user manuals, as well as “see-through” applications that combine vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications with AR.
OEMs like Volvo are cooperating with Microsoft to explore VR applications for the automotive industry using the HoloLens, such as vehicle design, in an effort to save costs in building prototypes and accelerate time to market.
As a driver, I find the idea of information and graphics popping up on my windshield or dashboard to inform me of my surroundings as a bit surreal and possibly confusing – I’m used to relying on my own ability to perceive and judge my surroundings, so all of this new information might end up being distracting.
ABI considers this possibility in its report, noting the risk of cognitive overload by displaying location-based advertising messages or other types of infotainment content.
“It will be critical to use AR sparingly, in a minimalistic way and only to display relevant, contextual information when needed to improve the driver’s perception of the road environment and reducing response times,” Bonte said.
How much information is too much? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
For more information about ABI Research’s report, Augmented and Virtual Reality in Automotive, visit the ABI website.