Mini’s Augmented Reality Steampunk Cosplay Eyewear

Now that I’ve nailed down the Weird Headline of the Day Award (assuming Florida doesn’t have another drug-assisted, naked rampage of some sort), I can move on to the real content of this article. Mini’s newest concept isn’t a car, it’s a pair of augmented reality goggles that look like something Stirling Moss would have worn if he had raced battle-zeppelins instead of cars. I like it.

What is does is the following (quoted from MINI’s press release):

• Head-up display functions: Display of speed, speed limits etc. in the eyewear so the information is in the driver’s primary field of view, with data always shown in same place above steering wheel to make sure that no road users are concealed from sight.
• Destination entry for navigation and transfer to vehicle: Selecting destination points when outside the vehicle, then transferring them to the vehicle.
• First Mile / Last Mile: Navigation display from the current location to the vehicle or from the vehicle to the final destination.
• Contact-analogue navigation and points of interest: Reality is enhanced by contact-analogue navigation arrows “on” the road, as well as display of points of interest along the route, such as open parking spaces. The driver’s attention can always stay focused on the traffic.
• Messaging: A small icon is shown in the eyewear when a message is received. The SMS/message can then be read out by the car while driving for safety.
• X-Ray View / transparent vehicle parts: A virtual view through parts of the vehicle (such as A-pillars and doors) serves to render external areas or objects concealed by the car visible.
• Augmented Parking: This facilitates parking by projecting the images from a camera housed in the (farside) mirror into the eyewear. In this way, the distance from the curb can be clearly and easily ascertained.

It all sounds cool, especially the x-ray view. I’d love to take an invisible-except-for-the-tires, rally-prepped MINI out for a drive.