Google Glass owners buying a new Hyundai will soon be able to control basic functions of their car straight from their headset. Hyundai announced yesterday that some of its next-generation vehicles will be able to connect to Google Glass using an app that will be released alongside its Genesis sedan, its first car to sport the integration. Owners of both Glass and a 2015 Genesis will be able to use the headset to find their vehicle, automatically start it, send addresses to its navigation system, and lock and unlock its doors.
"Wearables are a great way to extend the experience outside of the vehicle."
Hyundai will also use push notifications to alert Glass wearers when the vehicle is due for maintenance. For better or worse, the integration stops there though, so there won't be any added distractions while driving. But even so, Hyundai says that it sees a lot of applications for wearables, so there could be more in the future. "Wearables are a great way to extend the experience outside of the vehicle by leveraging these small screens to quickly access remote features and deliver timely vehicle information," Barry Ratzlaff, a Hyundai executive director, says in a statement.
For now, Hyundai's app will have an interface to match Glass, but it won't have specific features that are tailored to Glass's strengths. Instead, the Glass app is just another version of Hyundai's existing Blue Link app, which already offers these same features on iOS and Android. It's a surprisingly quick adoption of a still-niche technology nonetheless, and at the very least, it'll probably be among the most futuristic way for consumers to start up a car.