Goodbye dashboard, hello road

Augmented reality-packing video display windscreens is going to become increasingly commonplace as the technology nears mass market-readiness. Photo / Supplied

Essentially the car is becoming more like a laptop and the windscreen will evolve into the virtual information screen. Get ready for the next big high-tech shift in cars: intelligent windscreens that display real-time visual information, like online road maps.

They're calling the technology "augmented reality" and saying that carmakers will revolutionise the way we drive, with the windscreen evolving into a virtual reality information centre, displaying speed, fuel usage, road signs, sat-nav directions, tyre pressure, brake pad wear ... Uncle Tom Cobbley and all.

Such heads-up displays are pretty much limited at the moment to speed and road signs that hover, as if by magic, in front of the driver. BMW and Volvo, for example, offer that and a bit more on a couple of their models in New Zealand.

But by 2020, says Dr Chris Davies, head of research for British company Autoglass, windscreens will be live with all sorts of information and the traditional dashboard will become obsolete.

"As well as accounting for up to 30 per cent of a vehicle's structural strength, the windscreen has become an interactive tool for sharing information and improving the driver experience," said Davies.

"But over the next few years we can expect to see this becoming more commonplace for those that are in a position to specify functions on their cars, and in time it may come as standard.

"Essentially the car is becoming more like a laptop and the windscreen will evolve into the virtual information screen."

Davies said augmented reality is the process of using electronic devices to add virtual elements to a real life image or situation.

It has been widely used in smartphones.

Simply, real-time video footage from a camera in the car's grille, for instance, is overlaid instantly with virtual or computer-generated information to appear on the windscreen.

"Car manufacturers are already working on assistance technologies such as collision-avoidance systems, lane-departure systems and sign recognition," said Davies.

He believes that within 10 years, carmakers will have completely revolutionised the function of the car windscreen. "The information that we see eventually making its way on to the screen will not be any more distracting than the traditional dashboard," he said.

"If anything, it will be positioned in a way that is more in the line of vision than we as drivers are used to, so may in fact be ultimately safer."

Davies said both glass and augmented reality technology are nearing a point where the windscreen can work harder to improve road safety, awareness and driving in general. "The driver and passengers will be informed not only of potential hazards on the road, but also given a large array of information including directions, points of interest and key vehicle statistics."