Mercedes Creates Gesture-controlled Vehicle With Augmented Reality Windshield

Mercedes, the German luxury auto manufacturer, had an interesting submission at CES 2012: its Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience (DICE). The Mercedes DICE concept is a fully customizable dashboard with gesture-based controls. It enables the driver to scroll through, select and control a variety of vehicle functions with basic hand motions.

Interestingly, the flat-panel dashboard also uses augmented reality to digitally display real-time information on the windshield. With a wave of a hand, users can skip music tracks, message friends, and even make a reservation at a local restaurant.

Damon Lavrinc from Auto Blog tested DICE in the video above. He said it's an interesting but buggy system. One big problem: The system's proximity sensors can’t yet distinguish between a gesture and a non-gesture -- for example, if the driver were telling a story and using his hands. No worry; the company will have plenty of time to de-bug DICE. After all, a Mercedes executive said we won’t be seeing gesture-based dashboard in mass-produced Mercedes vehicles for another 20 years.