Video Transcript
We all want safer vehicles, right? Between automakers and tech companies, we’re getting there a little at a time with evolving digital tools and vehicle features. But how far does it go?
A recent patent filing by Apple suggests a new approach to vehicle safety that appears to be less about putting your screens down and more about bringing the screen to your windshield.
The Drive reports that Apple has filed a patent application for a technology that’s described as an augmented reality windshield not for infotainment but rather for adding context and safety features to certain driving scenarios.
The idea, says The Drive, is for display technologies to overlay real-life landscape features by using sensors like cameras and lidar to gather data about the real-world environment. The benefits of these technologies could be plentiful. For example, it’s possible the screen could highlight street signs or variables that are partially obscured from the driver’s view.
Taking the safety component one step further, the report says the system could be capable of identifying children, alerting the driver of a school zone, or adding simulated speed bumps if the driver is going too fast. It’s possible that the AR could work with the vehicle’s active suspension to even simulate the feeling of a rumble strip.
While The Drive admits the patent filing is “light on the details” of how all these big ideas will translate to reality, it’s certainly an exciting prospect to consider if the display concept can translate into a high-quality, usable feature that doesn’t annoy drivers more than it helps.
As Motor Authority points out, AR features already exist using heads-up displays to enhance navigation, “but filling the entire windshield with three-dimensional imagery is another matter.”
