We’ve talked about the opportunity of virtual reality for the automotive industry more often in the past. But with the advent of the metaverse, the discussion of the car as the entertainment center of the future has come back into focus. VentureBeat has now come out with an exciting reflection that talks about the disruption of the automotive industry by the metaverse.
But not all components of the metaverse as the next generation of the Internet are really suitable for the vehicle. Especially the “driver”, even if we assume a fully autonomous vehicle, should not wear VR goggles, as this makes it almost impossible to interfere with the driving. But augmented reality, as an overlay of the real world with virtual content, is a great opportunity for the vehicles of the future.
The car, according to VentureBeat’s article, promises a range of entertainment options. For example, there are plans to equip the seats with controllers that could be used to play games with other Metaverse users on the windscreen’s augmented reality HUD. Es gibt sogar Pläne für Online-Karaoke oder einer neuen Version von Guitar Hero, die im selbstfahrenden Auto vorinstalliert sind und so ein ganz neues Element in lange, autonome Fahrten bringen kann.
An example of a car company that is already investing in the Metaverse is Nissan. They have already unveiled their I2V Invisible to Visible AR concept at CES, but are now making further inroads into the next generation of the internet. Their system highlights obstacles that are not obvious to the driver via an in-vehicle display to increase safety and driver comfort and take full advantage of immersive technologies. Long lonely journeys can also be avoided using smart glass because other people can easily be switched into the car as avatars to keep the driver or in autonomy occupants company. By 2025, according to recent reports, Nissan aims to introduce such technologies as an integral part of its vehicles.
Despite all the initial steps, the technological solutions for AR and co are still in their infancy and there are some safety requirements that need to be clarified before then. Despite everything, metaverse and car will grow closer and closer together in the future and enable completely new options!
