Can you imagine driving an invisible car or landing within an invisible airplane watching your feet ten kilometers above the ground? In the near future augmented reality will disrupt the current ways of transportation and navigation systems built in different vehicles. It sounds fun, but is it really a good way of interrupting the industry?
What is augmented reality?
Augmented reality can be described as a live, direct or indirect image of reality where elements are being added by a computer. These elements with sensor data are giving extra information about the environment. On the picture below you can see how it works: the reality of the supermarket is viewed on the mobile phone, but as you can see the discounts are added by a computer. Giving thus extra information about the current environment.
This Technology will also help drivers of a car see around blind spots. While driving you can see the road passing by underneath your feet but you can also see everything with a birds eye view behind, in front, left and right. It is like you are driving in an invisible car.
How does it work?
In the Car there will be a projector system that mirrors light exactly back from where it was taken. Therefore, it can project the accurate image, in the exact same position directly to the driver. The projector can be placed for instance on the ceiling to track the drivers movement so that the image shown to the driver will be accurate. A more detailed image and video is shown below.
Augmented reality could not only be used for cars but also for airplanes. This could be a huge advantage for the pilot if he has to land the airplane. If augmented reality could make it possible to make the floor in the cockpit transparent, it will be a lot easier for the pilot to see the runaway beneath him while landing.
Is it really the future?
Driving while viewing the road underneath your feet, sailing on a cruise watching the sea below you, watching the world beneath your feet from the airplane. It sounds as a whole new experience traveling. That it will make long distance traveling better? For sure! But the question for remains if this disruption also makes travelling safer, or will it actually be misleading? We will probably find out in the near future!
By Juliette Talan
References
Tachi, S. (2021, 24 juni). Augmented Reality Helps Drivers See Around Blind Spots. IEEE Spectrum. https://spectrum.ieee.org/augmented reality-helps-drivers-see-around-blind-spot.
Van Roey, C. (2017, 13 oktober). Wat is. . . ‘Augmented Reality’? Copyright UBA 2021. https://www.ubabelgium.be/nl/news-insights/detail/2017/10/06/Wat-is-Augmented-Reality
