The automobile is a relatively old industry, according to the power source, it has experienced three eras of steam power (began in 1769), gasoline (began in 1885), and electricity (began in 1899), and the hot new energy vehicles are either gasoline-electric hybrids or lithium batteries to provide power, so they are still limited to three eras.
With the rapid development of science and technology, the meta-universe has swept all walks of life, and the XR that comes with it is also well known, so when the trendy XR meets the traditional car, what kind of spark will be wiped out, this issue's sharp commentary, let's talk about it.
Wonderful CES: 2023 Consumer XR+ Automotive Vision
XR full name Extended Reality, translated as Chinese is extended reality, it refers to the combination of real and virtual through the computer to create a virtual environment that can be human-computer interaction, which is also the collective name of AR, VR, MR and other technologies. By integrating the visual interaction technology of the three, the experience brings a "sense of immersion" that seamlessly transitions between the virtual world and the real world.
CES is considered a bellwether in the global tech community, as the world's most advanced IT and electronic information technology are first showcased here before they go on the market. In other words, from CES we can see the future development of science and technology. If you look closely at this year's CES 2023, you will find a lot of XR+ automotive solutions, let's give a few examples:
The first is BMW. It brought the BMW i digital emotional interaction concept car Dee at this CES show, which is also the world premiere of Dee.
In addition to the world's first full-color E-Ink technology applied to a car, Dee is also equipped with BMW's Advanced Head-up Display and Mixed Reality Slider, which together form the central control system of the BMW i Digital Emotional Interaction Concept Car. Another highlight of the car is that mixed reality technology can fully engage different senses to create an immersive experience in the car. Users can choose between five levels through the mixed reality interface, including: real environment, driving information, social communication, augmented reality projection, and virtual world.
Next is the masses. It brings a brand new Volkswagen ID.7 this year. This pure electric car based on the AERO concept car is equipped with a 15-inch central display and AR HUD augmented reality head-up display, and is equipped with an intelligent air conditioning system that can sense that the driver is approaching the vehicle through the key, turn on the air conditioner in advance, and intelligently adjust the wind direction, wind speed and temperature of the air conditioner according to factors such as sunlight.
Finally, there's Audi. At the exhibition, it showcased the in-vehicle VR experience "Experience rides", which uses the technology of Holoride, a developer of VR in-car entertainment experience, and its vehicle positioning software can synchronize VR content with the actual driving conditions of the vehicle in real time, so as to achieve an immersive VR driving experience. Experience rides can bring virtual entertainment functions to the user in real time according to the driving status of the vehicle, transforming the driving experience into a game experience.
In addition, Samsung subsidiary HARMAN has also launched the AR driver assistance kit Ready Vision, which includes AR head-up display hardware and AR software products that can help improve driver safety and awareness. Among them, AR software is integrated into vehicle sensors, providing audio and visual alarm prompts, which can provide key information to the driver in a timely and accurate manner; AR head-up display hardware can be navigated by displaying intuitive indications on the windshield.
Whether it is BMW's Dee, Audi's Experience rides, or HARMAN's Ready Vision, the XR+ automotive solutions they showcased at CES 2023 are all portraying a bright future for consumers with an excellent car driving experience with XR.
The brutal status quo of consumer XR+ vehicles
BMW's XR+ automotive solution at CES 2023 has made many consumers fascinated, but the reality is cruel, and the current situation of XR+ cars is not friendly to consumers.
The AR-HUD looks great. The so-called AR-HUD is to integrate AR technology into the HUD optical projection system, overlaying digital images in the real world we see, so that the information projected by the HUD is integrated with the real driving environment.
Although AR-HUD is the best in all aspects, the disadvantages are also obvious. There are problems such as excessive left and right eye distortion, strong sunlight backfilling, large volume, and obvious solar glare. At present, AR-HUD technology is not mature enough, and the display effect still needs to be improved.
Even the Huawei AR-HUD, which many people expect, its performance is not ideal. On the Huawei AR-HUD that was first released by the Skyfan R7, some users said that although the Huawei AR-HUD has a large enough field of view, rich enough content, and clear enough display, the media playback angle effect is far less than expected, and it is very good as an exercise aid, but in terms of entertainment attributes, it looks chicken.
Pick AR glasses for car models. Last year, NIO held the NIO Day 2022 new product launch event, bringing the latest model EC7 and the new ES8. Among them, the new ES8 is equipped with NIO Air Glasses AR glasses jointly created by NIO and AR glasses brand Nreal and N-box enhanced entertainment console, providing users with immersive in-vehicle entertainment audio and video experience.
According to Nreal's official website, the company's Nreal Air glasses are currently only suitable for NIO's Banyan intelligent system in terms of car audio and video entertainment. It should be known that in the consumer AR glasses market in the third quarter of 2022 released by third-party market research agency Analysys, Nreal occupies the first place with a market share of 34.5%.
Even Nreal, the leader in the domestic AR glasses market, has few cars that its products are suitable for, not to mention other brands of AR glasses? Even if AR glasses do not need to be deeply adapted to cars, there are not many cars that support Type-C interface with DP function. Therefore, AR glasses are very picky about car models.
Practical enterprise-class XR+ automotive solution
While consumer XR+ vehicles are slowly evolving, enterprise XR+ automotive solutions are booming and versatile.
In terms of car maintenance, with the help of relevant AR equipment or APP, the staff can see the parts that need to be repaired, the tools that need to be used and the maintenance operations that need to be carried out, so as to quickly solve the car failure.
Porsche, for example, reduced repair service time by 40 percent by using AR glasses. Through these AR glasses, technicians can see the vehicle schematic superimposed on the physical parts of the car, giving them a clearer picture of how everything is working and solving problems.
When it comes to automotive design, producing and designing physical versions of automotive prototypes is often an expensive and time-consuming process. Not to mention, the use of various resources has a direct impact on the planet. With XR, automotive companies can create digital twins of potential products and use apps to complete designs in the virtual world. Prototyping in XR greatly reduces costs and allows employees to experiment with design ideas faster.
Let's take Honda as an example, the all-new 2023 Honda Pilot is the company's first production model, and its Los Angeles team used VR for product evaluation. Among the many tests performed, one included color evaluation in a VR environment, which allowed the color, materials, and finishes team to fully visualize all the décor, enabling instant feedback between design studios in Los Angeles and Japan.
In terms of car display, AR technology can be used more conveniently for car display. AR technology allows car dealers to display multiple appearances using only one real car, and AR technology can show customized effects in a cost-effective way compared to showing multiple cars or a large number of pictures.
In November 2021, FAW Toyota specially selected the launch venue of its new SUV product Lingfang in the XR live broadcast hall of CCTV, relying on extended reality technology to build an immersive virtual space to display the light luxury and beauty of vehicles.
In addition, there is automotive training. Through XR, salespeople can learn and understand how to use the complex tools and techniques in new products more vividly, so that they can use more proficient sales skills to introduce vehicles to customers in the most relaxed and safe environment.
Many people are familiar with Volkswagen as the pioneer of XR+ car training. Back in 2017, Volkswagen announced the deployment of VR training for HTC Vive headsets in global operations, making the company the first automaker in the world to fully embrace VR technology in this way. Since then, Volkswagen has continued its efforts and began to use "SenseGlove Nova" for automotive assembly skills training in 2021, which is different from the traditional training mode and VR controller, based on force feedback VR gloves, front-line employees will be able to truly feel the auto parts, so as to have an in-depth understanding of the whole vehicle.
Write at the end
If you ask me, is it necessary to get a car on the XR? The author's answer is to have specific questions and specific analysis:
For the consumer market, the current XR+ car scheme is not mature, and it is a gimmick greater than the reality. There is still a long way to go to achieve the results shown at CES 2023, and no one can give an accurate answer when it will be achieved.
For the enterprise market, the XR+ automotive solution has demonstrated its strong vitality. It will not only reduce the time spent on maintenance, but also reduce the cost of automobile design and development, which will greatly promote the development of the automotive industry.
According to a report released by Allied Market Research, the global automotive augmented reality and virtual reality market was valued at $213 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $673.6 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 175.7% during the forecast period 2018-2025.
From this point of view, XR+ cars have great market prospects, relevant companies can participate in it with confidence, as for consumers, it is recommended to stay on the sidelines, and it is not too late to end when it is mature.
Text/Doflamingo