Your Car Windshield Is No Longer Just A Piece Of Glass
One of the latest advances in Auto Glass is Augmented Reality, which is actually a new term for a relatively old idea: displaying or projecting an image on real life material that gives a person useful information. This was born in the cockpits of military aircraft in the 1940’s with the HUD, or head-up-display. These displays reflected information off of the windshield of the plane to assist pilots in aiming and flying without having to put their head down to view the instruments, hence the name “head-up” display. Nearly all military planes and many commercial planes are equipped with HUDs. Here’s a video that shows BMW‘s head up display on certain model cars.
Enter “Augmented Reality”
In the 1980’s, auto window repair and manufacturing companies began supplying car manufacturers with basic Heads Up Displays to include in new models coming out of the factory. These simple HUD’s would show the speed of the vehicle and navigational information on the vehicles windshield that the driver could see without looking down. Although they never became completely mainstream, that are still around today in some models of cars. -
Of course, this is a very basic idea of “augmented reality.” The true arbiters of augmented reality are currently smart phones. Many apps and programs allow the smart phone to use their camera to view the world with augmented information on it. For instance, one can point their camera at a famous landmark and an icon will appear that links to the Wikipedia article for that landmark. Driving directions can be displayed in real-time on the actual roads that your camera is pointed at. There are also many games that take advantage of this augmented reality system to allow people to interact in the real world using their cell phones.
The Merger Between HUD and Augmented Reality
Now, these two technologies, HUD and augmented reality, are beginning to merge. Recently, many car manufacturers are implementing augmented reality technology right into the car that can display a multitude of information. For example, you could see the driving directions for your next turn, be alerted to an errant driver, or see various information about the landmarks and areas you’re driving by. You could also hook the windshield up to your smart phone and be notified of new text messages, Facebook updates, or even see your Twitter feed in real time. Some of the augmented reality prototypes even respond to voice and hand gesture, allowing you to control them without ever taking your eyes off the road.
This comes with the question of how much is too much? IS it really necessary to see your Facebook status as you’re doing 70 MPH on the highway? Does a factoid about the passing court house really help you drive? Many experts are trying to balance the entertainment and usefulness factors with safe driving. On one hand, if somebody is looking at their windshield instead of their cell phone, then obviously they are going to be safer. On the other hand, if the information itself is unnecessary and doesn’t help the driver in a direct way, could it be worse than nothing at all? This is obviously something that will be worked out before the technology becomes widely available.
How Will These Advances Affect Auto Window Repair Technicians?
Nearly every major manufacturer is looking at getting this technology on the road within the next few years, especially in higher end cars like BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi to name a few. It is entirely possible that the technology used in augmented reality windshields will rely on a special coating on the glass to work properly. If this is replaced or corrected by the auto window repair tech in such a way that it interferes with the coating, then the display may not function correctly or may even obstruct the driver’s view of the road. It is also feasible that the exact shape of the windshield will play a factor in reflecting light for the driver, so this may be an important variable. These advances have some interesting implications for auto glass shops that provide Auto Window Repair. As these new technologies become more readily available – and popular – technicians will have to add more skills to their current tool set. As windshield moves from being a solid piece of glass to an intelligent combination of glass and electronics, fixing them may require IT, Networking, Software Development and Electrical skills. It’s very possible that the person fixing your windshield in the future will be more like an IT Geek than an Auto Body Repair Tech.
Overall, the idea of augmented reality on the road is very exciting. Being able to superimpose information and directions into the real world could be more than just useful and actually increase road safety by directing drivers’ attention away from their cell phones and back onto the road. IT will be important, both for manufacturers and the users of the end product, to decide what the safe limits are when it comes to safety, though, as overwhelming a driver with information could result in accidents. It will also be important for auto glass shops to stay on top of the technology for their customers’ sake. For better or worse, it looks like this technology will be upon us within the next few years, so keep an eye out for it.
The post Does Your Car Have An Intelligent Windshield? appeared first on Grand Sport Auto Body.
Source: http://www.grandsportautobody.com/blog/auto-window-repair-augmented-reality/
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