Rumors and whims of fully automated windshields have floated around car shows and the auto industry for awhile now. The conversation has been recently revived by Google's Project Glass, which is focused on creating interactive glasses to do things like video chat, find directions, text message friends, and post pictures to G+, among other bits.
Car companies like General Motors have been working on interactive windshields for years - about 23 to be exact, according to this article on Wired.com. BMW has worked on things like night vision, the Heads-Up Display and ConnectedDrive project for a while now. BMW's 3-series 2012 model has introduced the Heads-Up Display in color as an option for car buyers.
So is Project Glass coming to the windshield world?
If BMW's model is any indicator of the future of displays, windshield replacement shops and car insurance agencies don't have anything to worry about. The technology used is actually fairly simple - a reflection on the windshield from a screen behind the driver's side dashboard.
But ideas floating around the Project Glass windshield suggest using your hand to swipe through different options on your windshield, such as restaurant reviews, your Twitter feed, and anything else you can think of that's done on a computer. Windshield replacements, if this does come about, could get really expensive. The cost for a replacement could be curbed if there is some external hand/voice recognition system outside of the windshield itself and developers utilize BMW's system already in place.
What about insurance deductibles?
It's doubtful that car insurance agencies will hike up their comprehensive deductibles for every car owner, but those with the special windshield in need of a replacement are more likely to have a higher deductible depending on the windshields construction, how the images are projected, etc.
Overall, the details are still unknown and cloudy on expanding the windshield beyond the basics found in a driver's dash. But car makers have become regulars at the Consumer Electronics Association's yearly conference to show off their prototypes. They've said the technology is at least a few years out till it hits the everyday consumer in its full fledged glory, obviously. But the possibility is still there.
In addition, Google has just barely put the technology up for pre-order to U.S. developers at their i/o conference for $1,500. And who knows, this could be a total dud, so no need to get your panties in a bunch over hiked up deductibles quite yet. If the technology doesn't work with a simple pair of glasses, how will it work on a full-fledged windshield?
What about the legal stuff?
The obvious factor here is distracted driving. Focusing on the road while trying to check ratings, tweet about them, and make a reservation at the latest and greatest restaurant cause way more issues than simply texting while driving. The federal Dept. of Transportation has made suggestions to states to ban all in-car communications, including GPS.
But these are for handheld devices that take the driver's eyes away from their windshield. A crash of epic proportions will surely ensue if someone was trying to do all this on today's devices while driving. So what happens when you take it out of your hands and put it as a translucent image on the target, the windshield, that's already being looked through?
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