cars news 10: Hyundai Augmented Reality App Could One Day Replace Owner’s Manual

Hyundai will be introducing an augmented reality app called Virtual Guide at the Connected Car Expo at the Los Angeles auto show. Hyundai calls it a “modern take” on the owner’s manual, as it contains content penned by the same team that creates their ink-and-pulp version.

Hyundai stopped by Motor Trend HQ to give us a demo. Check out our quick videos below.

I was surprised to learn that instead of turning to an outside company the app was designed in-house. For the record, this is one of the best apps I’ve seen put out by an automaker. The Virtual Guide is a supplement to the paper owner’s manual and doesn’t currently replace it. The app will be free to download, and will not have a subscription fee. It will launch on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, but only features content for Sonata models. For now.

The app can virtually identify and provide information about various tasks and features, from checking your oil, to jumping the battery, to identifying/decoding lights in the instrument cluster, and even how to use the smart trunk.

Hyundai engineers wanted to eliminate the frustration experienced with the traditional paper manual, so all relevant information is available within three clicks. The app is quick, and once the section of the car is “mapped” the different information points will stay in place even if you move the phone. Cool stuff.

I asked if this was the beginning of the end for paper manuals, but Hyundai couldn’t give me an exact timeline for when the technology might completely replace the glove compartment staple. But given that digital copies of the owner’s manual already come loaded on iPads for Equus buyers, and now the automaker has this Virtual Guide, Hyundai could be the first manufacturer to ditch the paper manual entirely.