In May 2012, Pioneer announced the newest model of Carrozzeria Cyber-Navi.  This breakthrough device, which is set to hit stores soon, has been getting a lot of buzz for moving car navigation from the dashboard to about 3 meters in front of your car.

I (Mr. Sato) was able to get an sneak peak test drive in a car equipped with a Cyber-Navi, and it was a surprisingly comfortable ride with clear visibility.

The most popular place to install navigation devices today is the center of the dashboard. It’s pretty easy to get all your information from that position, but it also involves you lowering your eyes.  Clearly this is bad as it takes your eyes off the road, which at high speed can be dangerous even for a moment. On top of that, your eyes have to constantly refocus as they move from the screen to the road ahead of you.  Altogether, this handicaps your visibility considerably.

Cyber-Navi’s Augmented Reality Heads Up Display (AR HUD) unit is mounted in front of the car’s windshield which means you can keep your eyes at the same level and still get all the info you need.  Also, because the information is projected 3 meters ahead of your car, you don’t even have to adjust your focus to read it.  Wou can still make sure your route is correct while keeping your eyes on the traffic ahead of you.

I took Cyber-Navi out on both a city street and an express way to get a sense of both and each of them turned out to be really comfortable.  Although there was a lot of information coming at me, my vision wasn’t hindered at all.  Before trying it out I was sure this thing would get in my way while driving, but once I got moving with it, there were no problems whatsoever.

A big highlight of Cyber-Navi is the “AR Scout Mode” which instantly delivers the distance of the car in front of you, the recommended lane for you, street signs, traffic lights, and more.  It also notifies you of a typical driver’s most needed pit stops like convenience stores and gas stations.

If you have a road trip planned for this summer, I highly recommend Cyber-Navi. It will make your trip more pleasant than any you have had before.

Photos: RocketNews24
Source: Pioneer “Cyber-Navi AVIC-VH99HUD/AVIC-ZH99HUD” (Japanese)

▼3 meters ahead information is displayed in the world’s first augmented reality navigation. It’s equally cool and useful.

▼In expressway mode, you are accurately navigated to your destination.

▼It can tell you about the car in front of you, road signs around you, and the lane to take.

▼The HUD unit is compact and fits into the same position as the sun visor.


[ Read in Japanese ]