For a long time now there has been a buzz around the technology that people are calling augmented reality, or AR. This innovation could one day see our whole environment turned into a digitally interactive landscape, where tablet devices, or even eye wear act as a window to information and interactive content.

Now imagine driving through a city, where icons and images relating to the places around you appear on your windscreen glass as you move past them. You or your passengers are able to learn more about landmarks, play games or even book restaurants, at the stroke of a hand.

This year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a concept that gave us a glimpse of what to this vision of future driving will be like, with an installation that showcased the potential of AR in automobiles. The visitor climbs into a cockpit, and is treated to an AR enabled evening drive through San Francisco.

The new telemantics system- a term used to describe the in-car technology fusing between telecommunications, and informatics- will work with gesture controls to make the system more intuitive, explains Vera Schmidt, user interface designer with Mercedes: "Gesture is very intuitive. Its very natural," she says. "You point at something and you want to know more about it."

With the development of these in-car features, there is the obvious argument that flashing icons, avatars of friends faces suspended over cars on the road may be distracting for divers. However, AR may be used to enhance safety on the road, as pop up information may alert people to new obstructions in the road, remind people of driving conditions, and even, with gesture recognition, be able to recognise when drivers are not paying attention.

Although we are still years away from seeing AR in cars on the market, we will be seeing more developments in this area from lots of automakers, especially Mercedes.

"We're working on a new generation of vehicles that truly serve as digital companions," says Dieter Zetsche, head of Mercedes-Benz cars. "They learn your habits adapt to your choices, predict your moves and interact with your social network."

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