GM has filed a new patent application for an augmented reality head-up display that dims specific areas of a vehicle’s windshield.
The GM patent filing has been assigned application number US 11,557,234 B1 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and was published on January 17th, 2023. The patent was originally filed on July 15th, 2022, and lists several Michigan-based engineers as the inventors, including Madalyn Theresa Eudy, Joseph F. Szczerba, John P. Weiss, Thomas A. Seder, and Kai-Han Chang.
Essentially, the system described in the new GM patent is designed to minimize the glare of an oncoming vehicle for the driver. The system incorporates an augmented reality head-up display and transparent windshield with smart glass and electrically tunable transmittance capabilities, as well as forward-facing sensors that can detect and identify headlights from oncoming vehicles and other bright light sources.
If the system detects that the light is above a certain threshold, the system will respond by dimming a section of the windshield to prevent glare, thus enhancing safety.
For anyone that’s been flashed by the bright lights of an oncoming vehicle at night, the value of this system is more than apparent. Being able to watch the road without getting blinded is obviously a big safety concern, and as more and more vehicles now equip high-powered lighting systems, the effects of getting flashed could become more and more pronounced. Pair this with an increasing number of large trucks and SUVs, which typically mount headlamps higher than other vehicles, and a system like this starts to become even more relevant.
That all said, this system is undoubtedly more complicated and expensive than a simple glass windshield. As such, it remains to be seen what the repair costs would be for something like a rock chip or even an entire windshield.
To note, this isn’t the only patent GM has filed recently that aims to block light from obstructing the driver’s view. Per previous GM Authority coverage, The General recently filed a patent for a system that uses a liquid crystal array and transparent LEDs to selectively darken sections of a vehicle windshield, as needed.
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Comments
Quick question, why not just used a polarized windshield that filters out light that’s at headlight wavelength? Seams cheaper and more reliable
Because you’d be driving around all the time with everything at half brightness. You see how many old people drive around with their fog lights on all the time because they have bad eyes? They’d all be driving into ditches and running over kids.
Besides that, how are you going to see anything illuminated with your own headlights?
LOL, most of the people I see driving with their fog lights on are the young guys driving large trucks trying to affirm their manhood and very young drivers who never took Driver’s Ed and don’t know the rules of the road. Most of the older experienced drivers know what they’re doing, in my humble opinion of course.
This is a great idea if it works. TSA has completely abdicated their responsibility when it comes to vehicle headlights. They have allowed headlights on new cars to become blindingly too bright without any apparent limits. They are unnecessary and dangerous for oncoming vehicles. The new technology will also help with the idiots who drive with their high beams on.
Another solution would be for TSA to strandardize the height of all headlights from the ground. The newer Trucks have a headlight much higher than a sedan. I know I am a dying breed still driving sedans. My Cadillac CT5 had headlight that are almost one foot lower than some of the 2023 Trucks. But, only fools like me ,expect anything from the Federal Government.
You are correct! When you are driving a Corvette, a truck coming in the opposite direction is twice as bad!
Going to be useful for when someone inevitably chromes a cybertruck. 😂
Also good for those overly bright rectangular warning lights on ambulances (front and rear) that make it hazardous to pass an accident scene?
So it’s following the iVisionDEEznutz?