MINI Augmented Vision revealed

Drivers will be able to see around corners, through thick A- and B-pillars and even doors when Mini's intelligent eyewear debuts at the Shanghai Motor Show next week.

Developed with Qualcomm, the MINI Augmented Vision system will let MINI drivers step up in-car connectivity and boost driving safety, MINI insists. It uses Qualcomm's see-through technology to give the driver all information that might be relevant to where the driver is looking.

It can see through parts of the driver's own car, but doesn't change the vision of the cars around it.

"We have created an interlinked system and augmented reality eyewear with a characteristic MINI design that revolutionizes the experience both in and outside the vehicle, BMW Group research and technology project manager, Dr Jörg Preissinger, said.

"This prototype, with its customised, interactive functions, succeeds in fusing augmented reality with the brand's sense of lifestyle."

Dr Pressinger said some of the features of the glasses include a head-up function that projects all current head-up display data, but without the head-up display unit itself. Instead, it uses sensors in the glasses to only show the head-up display information in the same place as a fixed unit would show them.

Given the increasing thickness of A-pillars due to safety laws, the X-Ray view feature of the glasses should prove extremely useful. It "sees" through the pillars and the doors to provide a better view of the outside world, which is particularly useful at intersections and T-junctions, as well as in parking.

The tie up with Qualcomm, a California-based wireless telecommunications technology research and development company, means that the glasses close the circle for in-car connections between the car and smart phones.
"We are proud to have helped develop a breakthrough augmented reality interface between eyewear and the automobile," Qualcomm Vuforia Vice President Jay Wright said.

"MINI Augmented Vision offers a compelling experience for consumers today, and hints at what will be possible tomorrow."

Of course, telecommunications are right up Qualcomm's alley so the glasses have plenty of coverage dealing with smart phones. When an SMS or call comes in, a small icon shows up in the glasses and the driver can choose whether or not to let the car read the message or to go hands-free on the call.

The glasses will also allow people to choose their destinations from outside the car, then use the glasses to transfer the data to the car's satellite navigation units.

It's also capable of highlighting points of interest, like restaurants or available parking spots, and even helping to navigate from the car to a destination once you've left the car. Critically for some people, it can also navigate people back to their cars if (ok, when) they forget where they've parked.

It could also spell the end of bashed alloy rims, because it has a camera on the MINI's far-side mirror that projects its images onto the inside of the glasses when the car is reverse parking.