Windshield manufacturers are waiting for dashboard screens to be completed

The recent CES 2023 in Las Vegas may show what the near future will look like, when screens, which are taking up more and more of the car dashboard every time, give way to windshields that do the same job. The manufacturers of these components have joined the trend of the EU legislating to speed up this change for safety reasons.

From the inclusion of the first digital display in a car, a small clock, to the most complex current systems capable of incorporating up to five large devices – tactile and haptic – across the board, the evolution of the last decade has been amazing. .

First, screens appeared in the center console, which increased in size, then became touchable and designed in style tablets; Later, the steering wheel instrumentation also became a screen; And lately, both are integrated and extend towards the passenger area so that they cover the front of the car.

The next step doesn’t seem to involve growing, but instead turning all of the car’s windows without them into projection screens. BMW CEO Oliver Zipes made it very clear at the Las Vegas Electronics Show: “I’m absolutely certain that the huge screens in the center of the dashboard will disappear in 10 years.”

Therefore, the windshield is the protagonist of this revolution that requires projection equipment (Header display or HUD) are increasingly sophisticated, as was presented at this edition of CES. The reasons for this new approach are to increase safety and improve the driver’s interaction with the vehicle and its environment. “The main cause of accidents is distraction, not speed. It’s a mistake that the driver has to look down at the car’s controls,” Zipse explained at the presentation of the BMW Mixed Reality Slider system.

Firms in the sector estimate that windscreens will become increasingly complex and will require more trained and specialized technicians to maintain. Carglass Spain, for example, has its own R&D department through Belron Technical, which constantly conducts research to update technical standards, allowing it to easily adapt to these technological developments.

The system introduced by BMW, which will be included in their models from 2025, allows drivers to choose how much augmented reality they want to see on their windshield while driving, including the ability to use the full width of the windshield. You can go from only viewing driving and safety information to a fully virtual experience in which the windshield is completely blacked out.

This five-step selection ranges from analogue content, driving information, communication system or augmented reality projection content to entering the virtual world. Adjustable windows can also be used weakens A windshield that gradually darkens beyond reality and into a completely virtual experience.

Continental’s proposal

One of the winners of the CES 2023 Innovation Awards, Continental’s Scenic View HUD displays information in a black strip that runs across the entire lower portion of the windshield, creating a viewing angle that allows drivers to focus on the road ahead. . The German manufacturer claims that “safety should be a priority and with these systems the driver is more connected to the road and his journey”.

Unlike BMW’s offering, the Scenic View HUD does not display information and graphics on a transparent area of ​​the windshield, but rather on a black printed area. Your benefits: less reflection, higher brightness and better visibility in all lighting conditions. Its big drawback is that it cannot project any content into the driver’s direct field of vision, or blend graphics with the actual objects the driver sees through the windshield.

Both systems make it possible to do without all the screens in the car, both on the dashboard and on the center console. The car’s instruments, as well as all connectivity, navigation, safety or multimedia menus, are projected onto different areas of the windshield.

This way, car designers can design a cleaner interior and even revise the dashboard and center console itself. In addition, the interaction of all passengers is encouraged, since the virtual image projected on the windshield is visible to all. It’s the first step toward the cabin-like interior expected with the arrival of fully autonomous cars, with or without a retractable steering wheel and pedals.

Source: El Diario

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