When the Google Glass was unveiled a few years ago, people became increasingly excited about the future of augmented reality glasses. However the Glass never really caught on that well initially, but today we are seeing a variety of other companies enter into the augmented reality market. Now an unlikely candidate, MINI (the car brand), is also getting into the race with their brand-new MINI Augmented Vision Glasses.
One would think that MINI’s parent company, BMW, would put out the glasses themselves, however that is not the case as they are being released under the MINI brand. The company has partnered up with Qualcomm to deliver their version of augmented reality glasses, and they have already developed a prototype that will be demonstrated at Auto Shanghai this week. Unlike other virtual reality glasses, the MINI Augmented Vision glasses aims to be something a little different from the competition.
While many virtual reality glasses try to be small computers and smartphone replacements, that is not the case with the MINI Augmented Vision glasses. These will be more of a supplemental device that you use while driving your MINI Cooper; it is essentially the next level of a heads-up display. The glasses will display a variety of information to the driver, like their speed or navigation directions for example, in a way that will not be disruptive. Additionally the glasses will be able to pair with a users smartphone, so you can get text and phone notifications on the device as well.
The glasses are powered by a Snapdragon 805 processors (same one used in my 4 month old phone) and it has a few cameras and sensors built in as well. While they are still in the earlier demo phases of the device, MINI and BMW have plans to release the glasses in a few different color combinations. We look forward to seeing the glasses formally introduced this week, and to get a better understanding of what they can do. As of right now, it seems like the Mini Augmented Vision glasses are on the right track to being a hit. I think it would be beneficially to drive with these glasses and to have a heads-up display, but the real question is would this just be another device that distracts drivers or a gimmick? I don’t think so, but we will certainly find out in due time.
Photos from BMW/MINI
