Let’s face it, many of the modern cars feature plenty of buttons with unknown functions. Audi figured out that an augmented reality iPhone app would be more helpful in such situations, not to mention that it would consume less of our time and effort.
Audi eKurzinfo won’t be available on all of the German manufacturer’s cars. Instead, it will only work with post-2012 Audi A1, A3 and S3. The app is said to provide details about more than 300 car elements, but using it is a bit tricky. In order for a car element to be identified, it should be placed right in front of iPhone’s camera. On top of that, it should take up as much as possible of the selection box. After all, you wouldn’t want to confuse the app and get details about another element instead, right?
This is more than just a simple augmented reality car manual app. Don’t get me wrong, Audi eKurzinfo helps people identify various car parts, but it also helps them fix them, should anything go wrong. So next time something goes wrong with the car, people should head to the nearest Apple Store, in case they don’t own an iPhone, buy one (and become an iSheep in the process), install the app and figure out what’s broken and how it could be fixed.
The problem with some augmented reality apps is that the more they help us, the more ignorant we are encouraged to become. Who needs to know even basic car parts and how to repair a broken vehicle when there’s an app for that? Since there also are good parts about this app, I’ll admit that eKurzinfo represents a good start and that it will probably set a new standard for user manuals.
The app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes Store. Unfortunately, there’s no Android version available, but Audi claims that one will be released globally (except in China and the US, for some odd reasons) by the end of this quarter. It’s sad that Audi assumes that all of its customers use Apple products, especially since it’s Android that has the greatest market share in Europe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-3K2FVwkVA
Additional details on how to use Audi’s eKurzinfo are also available on the iTunes Store page of the app. Check out the above video to see the app in action.
If you liked this post, please check the Häagen-Dazs AR Concerto Timer and the IKEA AR-enabled 2014 catalogue.
