Volkswagen Unveils Future iOS-Centric Augmented Reality Car Repair App

Ahead of the upcoming October 11 InsiderAR augmented reality conference in Munich, German automaker Volkswagen has unveiled an iOS-centric augmented reality service support app for its vehicles, reports The Next Web. Codenamed MARTA, which is short for Mobile Augmented Reality Technical Assistance, the application is designed to be used on Volkswagen’s XL1 concept car and walks technicians through each step of a repair or service, pointing out individual parts and displaying step-by-step instructions to service specific sections.


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 initialisation. 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 initialisation 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.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen debuted the “iBeetle” with full iPhone integration and special badging, with the automotive maker claiming it was the first car in the world to have a "genuine integrative interface made for the iPhone that was coordinated with Apple." Apple also revealed its iOS in the Car feature alongside the unveiling of iOS 7 earlier this year, allowing for compatible car systems to interact with iOS, with support for the feature coming in 2014.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...

Top Rated Comments

NMBob Avatar
141 months ago
Huh?

"This gives the employee a new system for identifying work items quicker and more accurately."

So the mechanic now needs an iPad to identify which thing is the fan belt?? :eek: Or is this description just lost in translation?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CFreymarc Avatar
141 months ago
Knew this was coming..and it's only the beginning.

The beginning of this was the early 90's when this was demoed at a SigGraph conference. Issue is that most of the core technology Augmented Reality patents have expired and the CPU speed / power levels are here where it is workable on mobile devices.

A few AR apps have shipped mostly dealing with games. A big company like this using AR for a non-Entertainment use is a watershed event.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Corrosive vinyl Avatar
141 months ago
wow, this could be a tremendous breakthrough in thought for the D.I.Y. crowd. I am personally tired of having marked up paper manuals with grease, oil, and everything else making whats in the book even harder to see. I agree with you, steppanwolf. Chilton manual apps and Siri telling you step by step instructions would be a very awesome future. Imagine buying Chilton manuals on the app store. That with a diagnostic app would sell like gangbusters.

As for getting the iPad all dirty, use some Mechanix gloves and take them off to use the device. Even with taking the gloves off I feel it would still save time. edit: nice to know about smudges Curun.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimeSquareDesi Avatar
141 months ago
K.I.T.T., engage turbo pursuit mode!

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)