Manufacturers in the automotive industry are beginning to look at the possibilities that the metaverse may offer them in the future, and they associate this innovation with augmented reality. Experts believe that AR-related technologies such as simultaneous location and mapping, facial recognition and motion tracking will have a lot of weight in the sector, and brands are starting to invest in this field.

In a future in which vehicles will be autonomous, augmented reality (AR) will play a very important role, complementing the perception of real environments with information about what car cameras capture, among other things. GlobalData experts have conducted research to better understand the relationship between technologies related to augmented reality and the metaverse in the automotive context. Among his main conclusions is that as the metaverse takes shape, certain technologies related to AR will have a more important role in the sector.

Specifically, they talk about simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), facial recognition and movement tracking, which they consider vital to develop use cases based on the metaverse . In the opinion of Emilio Campa, thematic analyst at GlobalData, “the metaverse is a virtual world where users share experiences and interact in real time within a simulated scenario, while AR is a technology that allows the user to see the real world superimposed with digital data. While the automotive sector is certainly making more use of AR, adoption is slow and the use cases are limited.”

One of the applications of augmented reality in the most modern and automated vehicles is the implementation in windshield head-up displays (HUD), which will allow the display of information and entertainment in the vehicle. In the case of level 5 vehicles, considered to be fully autonomous , more uses for augmented reality will likely emerge, but they are not expected to be widely on the market until 2035.

Meanwhile, AR innovation within the automotive field is progressing, with applications such as on-screen GPS navigation aids displayed on the windshield. On the other hand, augmented reality has various applications within the industry, especially in the field of manufacturing and maintenance, worker training or vehicle quality control.

Apart from this, the manufacturers also have an eye on the development of the metaverse, since it could offer interesting possibilities to the sector, or not. According to Campa, “The automotive sector is not immune to the hype around the metaverse, which is likely to be based on AR-related technology, as some automotive companies have already started exploring it. For example, BMW partnered with Nvidia and Hyundai partnered with Unity, both intending to build virtually accessible 3D digital twins of their factories. This will allow employees to collaboratively assess modifications and adjustments to production lines in the early planning stages.”

There are other projects that try to link the metaverse and AR technologies with the automotive industry and 5G communications, from vehicles to on-board services, but at the moment they can be considered as experiments and it is not clear if they will have a future in the sector. of the automotive In Campa’s opinion, leaving these examples aside, the impact of augmented reality and the metaverse on the automobile industry is small, worse as these technologies are integrated into other aspects of people’s lives, adoption in the automotive industry could advance, especially around autonomous vehicles.

He concludes that “augmented reality will enhance future entertainment experiences by overlaying content and video games on top of the outside world or by reusing car windows to show a completely different world. It’s quite possible that these worlds are part of the metaverse, allowing the avatars of family and friends to join you on those long, boring journeys.”

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