Google Glass' Newest Competitor: BMW?

BMW on Sunday unveiled its new "Mini Augmented Vision" – prototype glasses that drivers of its Mini line can wear to drastically improve their driving experience from a utility and safety point of view.

According to re/Code, the glasses gives a Mini driver a "heads-up look at directions and hidden obstacles as well as offering a means of hands-free texting and music control." The publication added that the glasses are connected to a set of cameras on the car's exterior that can even provide "X-ray vision" to see "through" the car to the curb when parking.

The glasses work with the Mini's already existing connected car system and is a hybrid of a modern smartphone with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS sensors along with a QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) processor and Android-based operating system.

BMW's strategy is unique in that it is focusing on improving the driver experience at a time when other manufacturers may be focusing on developing fully autonomous technologies.

"People who love to drive, that's our customer," Mini product planning manager Patrick McKenna told re/Code.

Related Link: Look Out, Tesla - BMW Is Coming For You

Google Glass Replacement?

Some may argue that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) hasn't seen the kind of success with its Google Glass that it had initially hoped so. However, according to The Verge, Mini and its parent company BMW are banking on the fact that it can overcome all the initial problems in the Google Glass, including privacy, fashion, interacting with a device that has few standard control schemes, and battery life.

"We think the long-term vision for something on your head where it's a head-up display for your life is super compelling," Qualcomm's augmented reality VP Jay Wright told The Verge. "The challenge is there's a lot of technology required to make it happen."

"It became pretty clear to [Qualcomm] that maybe the heads-up display for your life starts out as the heads-up display in your car," Wright added.