AR turns entire car windscreen into heads up display

The technology highlights potential hazards, helps with navigation and provides passengers with entertainment

Spotted: Designed by Beijing-based human-machine interface experts, Futurus, the augmented reality windscreen works for both drivers and passengers. The screen highlights potential hazards, and navigation assistance is continuous. Drivers no longer have to glance away from the road to check another device for directions.

Most current heads up displays (HUDs) work on a portion of the screen. Making the entire front window of a vehicle an augmented reality device has many implications, including increased ease of use and improved safety. Critics’ concerns, however, focus on what happens should the device malfunction. Would the entire screen go blank? And the flip side of having possible dangers digitally highlighted is that some may not be recognised by the system.

Futurus says that the new technology also allows passengers to watch on-screen entertainment without hindering the driver’s ability to see out of the window. The design, and more information on how it works, will be unveiled at January 2020’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

We spotted a similar innovation last year: France-based EyeLights created a portable device that converts car windshields into a hologram that displays phone functions and apps, like navigators.