Ever stuck with a car that just doesn’t start? Well, how about rather than running about for a mechanic, simply referring to your phone for help? Well, Volkswagen ha unveiled an iOS-centric augmented reality service, called MARTA. i.e. Mobile Augmented Reality Technical Assistance. The service will first accompany VW’s concept car – XL1 and walk you step-by-step into car repair.
Here’s what Volkswagen says about the app, “Using the previous approach, the service technician could only call up digital repair guidelines. For the XL1, these guidelines were supplemented by the MARTA augmented reality function which “labels” the individual parts and elements with text and shows work instructions clearly.
When MARTA is called up, the system lists all of the jobs to be performed along with the necessary equipment. Each work task to be performed begins with what is known as an initialization. The vehicle’s silhouette is shown in the display of the mobile end device, and it shows the employee the orientation to be taken in relation to the vehicle. If the silhouette and the camera image of the real vehicle agree, the initialization is finished successfully. Then the individual context-dependent work steps are shown on the tablet. This gives the employee a new system for identifying work items quicker and more accurately.”
Here’s a video elucidating on the same:
The company is no stranger to making its cars smartphone centric. Rather, it has a special charm for the iPhone. It also unveiled an iBeetle and iPhone integrated car, which it said had a “genuine integrative interface made for the iPhone that was coordinated with Apple.”
Apple on the other hand is working on car support on its own. In the iOS 7, it has unveiled the In the Car feature which allows compatible car systems too interact with iOS. Extended support for this feature will come around next year.
