Smart Windshields: Safe Or Smart?
Our phones are smarter, our TVs and entire homes are smarter, and even our vehicles have been becoming smarter. A pad and pencil are no longer necessary to figure out how many miles a car gets per gallon of gas. Your vehicle computes that for you.
But a windshield? What can be done to make a windshield “smart”? Consider the broad expanse of glass in a car, contemplate the car windows as large screens. Immediately you can visualize a computer monitor covering that wide area of glass.
How can it possibly be safe to turn a car’s windshield into a computer monitor when the biggest concern for a car windshield is a clear field of vision?
Smart Windshields: Safe Or Smart?
Contents
In this article, we discuss what smart windshields are and whether or not they affect your safety on the road.
Cell Phone Usage While Driving And Distracted Drivers
Leading computer and car manufacturers have been researching driving safety. As people’s attachment to their cell phones has grown, traffic-related deaths have escalated. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released statistics indicating accident fatalities have climbed to new levels. The administration is trying the address distracted drivers who fiddle with their cell phones and various apps. In an attempt to lower those deadly numbers, states are enacting laws to prevent the use of handheld devices as people drive. However, with laws in place, there cell phone use while driving still causes a high number of fatalities.
Related Article: How To Find Windshield Leaks
Certain Data Already On Windshield
If the small screen is proving deadly, can a large screen stretched out in front of a driver’s face be safe? Auto manufacturers around the world have conducted at least two decades of research. Already, certain car models are displaying instrument panel data on the windshield. For example, the windshield will display driving speeds, so the drivers’ eyes don’t have to leave the road to see how fast they are going.
Likewise, the windshields will project the car’s gas level at the bottom of the windshield. This makes it easily visible with a quick shift of the eyes. Then, with the use of the augmented reality of a smart windshield, drivers can locate nearby gas stations, so the driver does not have to do the research himself.
What Smart Windshields Can Offer
Other solutions to distracted driving relate to GPS units, which are often in car dashboards or as separate devices. A driver’s concentration often leaves the road when listening to a GPS unit or smartphone audibly instruct a planned route. Researchers suggest that a navigation route laid directly over the roadway through the windshield will be more efficient — and safer.
Smart Windshields with voice control technology will make locating nearby locations, such as restaurants and hotels, simple. Complicated routes and exits to airports and theme parks might become less frustrating. Some car manufacturers are working on facial recognition software to pair with a credit card. This way, you can order and pay for fast food quickly and more efficiently — without fumbling for a wallet or through a purse.
Even those pop-up internet ads everyone loves so much are configured into the planning for smart windshields. Fortunately, only passengers, not drivers, will be able to view these ads. Experts claim that by the year 2030, the income that these ads generate will top 1.5 trillion dollars. With that much revenue predicted, it seems apparent smart windshields will be given the green light by the manufacturers.
As smart windshields move from research and development into the marketplace, we can expect continued testing about data placement to make the big auto glass screens as safe as possible. This makes it possible for them to be certainly safer than handheld devices.
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Like every invention or change, bugs can be expected in the rollout, along with continued enhancements. As more data becomes available, manufacturers can pinpoint the best and safest usage.
Consider a smart windshield is just a quarter of the glass available in a vehicle. With those wide-open spaces available to make “smart,” what sort of playgrounds are being planned?
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The shop is composed of certified technicians with the skills and experience to deal with any related problems. You can expect honest assessments, reasonable rates, and exceptional services. Call Liberty AutoGlass to schedule a free estimate today. Click the link to view our service area.
