Google has tried to carve a niche for itself in the automotive realm with self-driving cars, and now Nissan is making its own incursion into the tech company's turf.
Nissan 3E, a Google Glass-like wearable computer, will be unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.
Details on the device are scarce, but in practice it could work like the ultimate hands-free infotainment system, allowing drivers to keep their hands on the wheel while looking (mostly) at the road ahead. In Nissan's teaser video, it almost looks like a Bluetooth headset that's gained sentience and is trying to take over its user's body.
Nissan says 3E is still in the prototype stage, but that it will be giving demonstrations at the Tokyo show.
If Nissan did decide to put 3E into production, it would probably encounter many of the same legal hurdles as Google has with Glass. The U.K. has already banned the use of Glass while driving.
Car makers are working to allow drivers to do more things without taking their hands off the wheel, although there is some controversy as to whether doing secondary tasks--like inputting destinations into a navigation system or texting hands-free--are simply too distracting.
Perhaps Nissan believes that getting autonomous cars on the road by 2020 will make that discussion irrelevant.
This isn't the first time Nissan has dabbled in tech. Earlier this year, the company unveiled the NISMO Watch concept, a smart watch that could read biometric data from a driver and performance data from a car, giving a whole new meaning to the term "connectivity."
For more from the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, check out our dedicated hub.
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