How Mercedes-Benz R&D is using Google Glass (an inside look!)

Vicki Thompson

In the lobby of Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, President & CEO Johann Jungwirth shows off a touchscreen system for visitors to look up employees and alert them of their arrival through an email, call or text message.

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Lauren Hepler: Economic Development Reporter- Silicon Valley Business Journal; Email | Twitter | LinkedIn | Google+

Five years ago, having Google dictate precise directions from a reliable smartphone app was still a pipe dream.
Today, Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America (MBRDNA) is working on a way to take advantage of the search engine giant's newest GPS-equipped device: Google Glass.
I took a tour of one of MBRDNA’s Palo Alto workshops, where I tried out a Glass GPS prototype and a host of other in-car “infotainment” systems.
The R&D arm of German luxury auto company Mercedes-Benz – a division of Daimler AG — will be consolidating and expanding its existing 150-person Silicon Valley presence in a new Sunnyvale office later this year (read about that here). In the meantime, they still have plenty of projects in the works to show off in Palo Alto.
According to MBRDNA President and CEO Johann Jungwirth, the company's ultimate goal on the Google Glass project is a "seamless" door-to-door transition between pedestrian directions and in-car GPS.
Jungwirth describes a scenario where users select a destination at home, get in the car and drive there, then exit the car and receive remaining directions as a walking route through Google Glass. That's instead of entering and re-entering destinations on in-car and out-of-car navigation systems.
Mercedes engineers told me the combination of Glass and auto navigation has some time to incubate before it hits the market, largely because most consumers still can’t get their hands on the pricey wearable computing devices.
In the meantime, I saw a demo of the Drive Kit Plus for iPhone. The smartphone plug-in accessory — part of the company's broader "Car-to-X" communication technology R&D program — sells for about $600 and works in Mercedes cars with a free app called Digital DriveStyle. The goal? Harnessing the smartphone to provide in-car entertainment and information.