Nissan has announced that it will be heading to CES 2019 next week with technology that helps drivers "see the invisible" by merging both real and virtual worlds, creating the ultimate connected-car experience. The carmaker's Invisible-to-Visible(i2V) tech may sound a bit far-fetched but delve a little deeper into Nissan's Intelligent Mobility vision and it all starts to make a lot more sense.

In essence, the i2V system will collate a raft of information from sensors both inside and outside the car with data from the cloud and relay it to the driver in an interactive way. Using avatars and projecting graphics on the windscreen, a range of information, both visible and unseen, will be made available.

"By helping you see the invisible, i2V enhances your confidence and makes driving more enjoyable," said Tetsuro Ueda, an expert leader at the Nissan Research Center. "The interactive features create an experience that's tailored to your interests and driving style so that anyone can enjoy using it in their own way."

To demonstrate its capabilities, the Nissan stand at CES will have an interactive, three-dimensional immersion experience on display.

Powered by Nissan's Omni-Sensing technology, i2V will indeed have myriad functions, from analyzing road environments to linking the car's occupants to the Metaverse virtual world where three-dimensional, augmented-reality avatars can come along for the ride.

Clearly, a lot of this tech is still in the development phase, but the possibilities do seem endless. The feature whereby you can chase a virtually projected professional driver to improve your driving skills sounds particularly cool. For now, though, visitors to CES will have to be content with donning a pair of augmented-reality goggles and getting a taster of what could one day become a reality.