California, United States — Heads-up displays in vehicles are nothing new. However, Apple is looking to push the boundaries of decades-old technology with their new concept for reality-augmenting windows.
The US Patent and Trademark Office recently published a patent application from Apple for an AR device intended to place virtual, projected images over real-world elements.
According to the patent, “the augmented reality display can include display elements which simulate one or more particular environmental objects in the environment, based on monitoring the manual driving performance of the vehicle by a driver.”
The patent suggests that the system would rely on many elements to function including visible light cameras, various types of infrared cameras, as well as ultrasonic and light-based scanning devices for building up a three-dimensional picture of the car’s surroundings.
Apple notes that this application would have many benefits in relation to speed and overall driving safety by providing relevant information to drivers such as including vehicle speed, and one or more portions of the environment in which the vehicle is located.
The information would be provided on a window or windshield so as to be perceived by the driver near their line of sight.
Essentially, imagine if every speed limit sign were to suddenly become one of those radar scanners that show actual vehicle speed compared to the speed limit.
Other functionalities could include: projecting a particular driving zone such as a school zone, determining a blind spot, implementing the image of speed bumps if a driver is going too fast, providing information about particular landmarks in a driving area and serving as a screen for Facetime calls.
While projecting this kind of information is relatively easy to do via more traditional forms of augmented reality such as an individual headset, the parallax caused by the shape of car windshields means that drivers of different heights will have to see the same displays through different parts of the same windshield.
As a result, one of the current main issues with the project is determining where to project display elements so that visuals remain clear regardless of driver height and the slope of the windshield.
Another issue is concerns over distracted driving since visual input will be consistently occupying part of the windshield or windows of the vehicle.
Regardless, the concept certainly feels like a possible step forward in displaying necessary driving information while also freeing up the dashboard for other yet-to-be-imagined future tech.
