Hyundai wants to replace the owner's manual with AR
No more fumbling through your filthy glove box for the manual.
Korean car maker Hyundai wants you to leave your owner's manual in the glove box. Instead it's updating its Car Care app for iOS and Android with the Hyundai Virtual Guide AR feature that not only points out important elements in its vehicles but also includes video tutorials on how to use those features and perform simple maintenance like checking the oil and changing the air filter.
While augmented reality has been tacked on to its fair share of products, the Hyundai Virtual Guide is actually something that will help car owners. From the AR portion of the app, you select either the front or back of the vehicle, the engine bay or the interior. From there, just point your smartphone at that portion of the car and labels pop up detailing what you're looking at.
If you need to know more about a feature or item, just tap on it and either a how-to video (either via overlayed AR or just regular 2-D) or a description of a feature or status light will appear. Some of the tutorials and information available include changing the air filter, checking the oil, pairing with Bluetooth and using cruise control.
Hyundai isn't the first to pull this off. Augmented reality firm Metaio built a Google Glass app for Audi vehicles back in 2013. Of course there are far more smartphones in the world than AR headwear.
The Car Care app will be updated with AR support for the 2015 and 2016 Sonata in the first quarter of this year. The rest of the 2015 and 2016 Hyundai vehicle lineup will get support later.
