Even though a majority of drivers still rely on the traditional dashboard, German group BMW’s brand MINI has an advance vision which skips the Head-Up Display as a whole, and through their cooperation with the American radio communications technology research and development company Qualcomm they have released the latest driving reality glasses Augmented Vision. Widening the focus of the driver’s field of vision, information such as navigation data, speed, speed limit reminder and 2-way road split messages can be presented directly on the lens.

Before entering the car, the user can first put on the Augmented Vision which has an operating system similar to Google Glass’ mini touchpad. Calibrating its located point in 5-minutes time, the buttons on top of the glasses are used as controls, guiding the user to the destination of where the car is. If you receive an SMS on the way, the screen will pop up with a reminder immediately, but will not directly display the details of the message. If the user wishes to read the message quickly, the system could then read it out with its voice mode to keep the driver focused on driving. After getting off the car, the glasses can also exercise its “Final Leg” function, leading the user to walk to his or her destination. Apart from this, the factory have also equipped it with the powerful “X-ray View” technology, which is installed on the exterior of the car to capture images outside to be projected on the glasses, making the car body appear ‘transparent’ by allowing the driver to clearly see pedestrians and obstacles which are physically blocked by the car. Beginners can also use the glasses to measure the distance between the car and the side of the road, making the process of parking much easier. Augmented Vision is still a preliminary plan at the moment, so the future for AR technology and connected car still demands for our anticipation.