Audi releases interactive augmented reality manual for drivers
If you aren't an auto-savvy person in general, learning what all the switches and lights do in your new car can be a bit overwhelming. Not to mention what happens under the hood. But a company called Metaio has worked in conjunction with Audi to release Audi eKurzinfo, a new augmented reality app for the Audi A3 that takes all the guesswork out of learning about your new car.
The app is an interactive augmented reality manual for drivers that can recognize over 300 individual elements of the Audi A3. Users simply launch the app and point the iPhone's camera towards whatever feature they want to learn about. Virtual overlays appear on the iPhone's screen which tell the person, for example, exactly what each indicator light stands for.
The driver can pop the hood and point the app at the engine, which will identify all of the engine's components and even tell the user how to replace the cooling fluid, for example.
Overall the app is a pretty cool example of how our smartphones can benefit us inside our vehicles -- and anything that lets us replace those horrible vehicle manuals that hide in the glove box is a good thing, too. The Audi eKurzinfo app is a free download, but does require the purchase of an Audi A3.
