The University of Linz (Austria), the Ars Electronica Futurelab and Siemens have developed navigation system that does away with confusing arrows and pictograms. The “augmented reality vehicle navigation” allows the driver to concentrate on the traffic even in an unfamiliar town.
A camera installed behind the shuttle’s rearview mirror films the road from the driver’s perspective and projects this view of the road like a TV image onto the navigation display. On the basis of the cartographic information and the GPS signal the on-board computer calculates a route which appears as a transparent yellow band placed exactly over the camera live picture. The driver can thus take in the route with just a quick glance and thanks to the camera also has the road in view at all times on the display.
A perfectly feasible possibility for the future is an even more realistic form of navigation. At the press of a button a head-up display superimposes a deceptively lifelike pilot vehicle on the windshield that a driver unfamiliar with the place can follow. The driver can concentrate fully on the traffic ahead while the virtual vehicle shows the way.