Nissan teases Google Glass competitor
Nissan released a teaser video on YouTube showing off what appears to be a Google Glass-like wearable head-up display, to be unveiled at the upcoming Tokyo auto show.
At the Frankfurt auto show in September, Nissan showed a concept called the Nismo Watch, an odd footnote to its usual display of new models and concept cars. Now, Nissan shows its serious about wearable computing, as it will unveil the 3E, a personal head-up display similar to Google Glass.
Very little information is available at this time. The video Nissan released has no dialogue, just dynamic music playing over images of a man throwing his head about. After about 30 seconds of movement, the 3E wearable display assembles itself over the man's left eye.
A final image in the video has the man looking forward, and the 3E display glows blue, as if a screen has been turned on.
From the video, it looks like a wearable head-up display that would likely project vehicle telemetry, and possibly navigation data, onto a screen in view of the driver's left eye.
The 3E has some of the bulk of Google Glass, but the entire device sits on the left side of the man's head.
Nissan's video promises that the 3E will be fully unveiled at the Tokyo auto show. The show will be open to the press on November 20, and to the general public on November 23. If the display is anything like the Nismo Watch in Frankfurt, it will be a bit of a disappointment. The Nismo Watch was only shown in a glass case and was not powered on, using a static graphic in place of a display.
The 3E follows the BladeGlider concept car in Nissan's Tokyo auto show preview announcements.