Well, everyone so far, we have covered devices intended for inside. This week, I would like to introduce a device that is still being developed, but I think it will be great for everyone. Its currently being called the Invisible Hood. No, it is not something you wear to sneak around! The Invisible Hood makes the Hood of your vehicle appear "see-through."
In the image I have shared of the prototype, you can see that the road appears to continue right up to the windshield. You can also see where the tires are positioned. This technology uses four cameras placed on the bottom front of the vehicle, relaying the images to a heads-up display transparent in the windshield's bottom portion. This gives a driver the ability to better maneuver around obstacles in the road. Imagine how many times you thought you would clear a pothole only to still drive right into it. For off-road enthusiasts, this a dream come true. It will also be helpful for young drivers to learn how to park. They will be able to see which way the tires are facing and how that affects the car. It will show them how close to the curb they are and help them avoid hitting it. The technology is too expensive to become a common feature in vehicles right now, but soon you will see it appear in luxury vehicles.
Hope you guys enjoyed this weeks smart device!!
Here is a link if you would like to read more.
https://www.silicon.co.uk/press-release/continentals-transparent-hood-technology-earns-ces-2020-innovation-award
Mike,
ReplyDeleteVery cool technology! I do not know how many scuffed rims I have caused due to cutting a turn a bit too close, this would have saved me a lot of frustration. With two teen drivers at home (one permit and one license), I could see this being very beneficial. My daughter is currently away at college, without a car, and my son is learning on his permit now. One thing I can say is that the technology incorporated into today’s vehicles provides a far higher level of safety and convenience than the vehicles I learned to drive in. Conversely, both of my kids tend to rely, very heavily, on the back-up camera when moving in reverse. While I feel that this tool is so valuable and has increased safety for both drivers and pedestrians, at times, I believe it is too relied upon. Technology fails, and with cameras, snow, ice, rain, fog, and low-light environments can often be the culprit. When driving with my son, I often obstruct his view of the screen when in reverse, in an attempt to get him used to using his mirrors. Similar to the old “optics as a secondary and iron sights as a primary” argument. Nonetheless, system redundancy and differing capabilities are never a bad thing. Thanks for the information on this great tech Mike. Until next time.
-Donny
Donny,
DeleteYou are right there are a lot of nice to have things that have become so important to some people that they don't know the old way of doing it. we should do things like in the military, when we don't let the young guys use optics until they prove they are experts with iron sights. However, in the commercial world, money talks and company's will sell to anyone who can pay for it.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis would be a game changer for those who enjoy driving off the beaten path. Technology for the automotive industry has drastically changed, computers, heated seats and steering wheels, cameras...etc. I have seen commercials of certain vehicles that can parallel park themselves by the driver simply pushing a button and taking their hands off the steering wheel. I agree with Brother Donny that we seem to be becoming too reliant on technology. I had an issue with my previous truck where the power steering would stop working. I took it into the service station and they could not figure out why. There method of troubleshooting is to hook it up to a computer and wait for it to spit out the solution. The computer could not figure it out. I had to take it back four additional times before the problem was finally resolved. I am fearful that basic driving skills will be lost due to technology. I am surprised the task of how to change a tire is not part of a required driving test. This kind of skill is so important especially for new drivers.
v/r
Andy E.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteJust like any other vehicle technology, it usually starts with the more luxurious vehicles and then, in time, they become a standard for all production vehicles. It seems like every ten years, we start to see different and new technologies emerge for vehicles. Pretty soon, cars will become autonomous and we no longer need to worry about the car itself...think "I, Robot." To be honest, I am not a big fan of the heads up display on cars. I feel as though it becomes more a distraction to drivers much like the smartphones have been. I am old school and I do drive like I'm chauffeuring Miss Daisy, but there are just too many distractions for drivers out there already. Great technology, but I don't necessarily agree with the employment.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post and smart technology that you shared this week. I wish they would have had this technology when I was learning to drive. I also wish they would have had this technology when I was stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. I don't know if you have ever been stationed or driven from Leesville, LA to Fort Polk, LA, but the main road that you take is filled with potholes. This smart technology could have allowed me to miss at least some of those potholes and helped reduce damage to my vehicle. That said, at a minimum, I hope this technology is available for my children when they reach the driving age in the next decade, as I think this would be helpful in helping me not have a heart attack as they learn to drive. :) Great post. I look forward to learning about the next smart technology you will share and how it can improve our lives.
Anthony
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post and smart technology that you shared this week. I wish they would have had this technology when I was learning to drive. I also wish they would have had this technology when I was stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. I don't know if you have ever been stationed or driven from Leesville, LA to Fort Polk, LA, but the main road that you take is filled with potholes. This smart technology could have allowed me to miss at least some of those potholes and helped reduce damage to my vehicle. That said, at a minimum, I hope this technology is available for my children when they reach the driving age in the next decade, as I think this would be helpful in helping me not have a heart attack as they learn to drive. :) Great post. I look forward to learning about the next smart technology you will share and how it can improve our lives.
Anthony
Mike T.,
ReplyDeleteLike many others have already stated, this is really cool. It provides a simulation like effect to operating a vehicle. This has the potential to be a powerful training tool for operating all sort of vehicles, and could be beneficial not only for driver’s training for new drivers but also for training drivers of larger vehicles such a 18 wheelers. Great post and thank you for sharing.
Mike W.
ReplyDeleteMichael,
I appreciate the blog and think that this is a very cool technology. I think this can really benefit those who enjoy riding off road and have lots of money invested in off road after market parts. I agree with you that this would be great for those upcoming new drivers as an added benefit of seeing tire position in relation to the car itself. I would think this could potentially reduce the amount of wrecks due to parking in big cities. I think like you mentioned this would be a very pricey option, but once it takes hold and becomes the norm it should reduce in cost. Thanks for the insights on such a cool technology. I will have to keep this in mind when buying a vehicle in the future.
Kevin
Mike
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting concept that could help inexperienced drivers, drivers in severe weather conditions, and those of us who like to curb check our vehicles. Its always interesting to see how long it takes for new innovations to go from prototype, to expensive to afford and then gradually filter down to the rest of us. Hopefully within 5 to 8 years. It is amazing some of the new innovations that are coming to driving vehicles or I guess sitting in one if they ever master the driver less vehicle. Great Post.
Tammy
Mike, this technology is awesome. I can imagine how many ecstatic parents will be out there. No more new drivers riding up on curbs. Plus it could probably be used in driver's training. I know my parents would have loved it. I think it would be pretty cool to see in the military as well. They are already testing autonomous vehicles I think this technology would be great for the vehicles that people will continue to drive. Thanks for another innovative technology.
ReplyDelete-Mandy
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis is cool! I had to look at the picture for a second to see what the tech was doing, I thought it was my imagination at first! I like the heads up display on the wind shield too, although I think that is out already, my 20 year old Z28 does not ave it though so its cool to me! This tech will open new roads (see what I did there?) to young drivers and off road enthusiast! Im not sure, with how expensive it is, many people would take it off road... But hey, who knows... Keep the cool new tech coming!
Andy D.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteTechnology and the driving experience is getting better and better. I thought I had it good with my heads up display feature that flashes in front of my windshield so I don't have to look at the speedometer but the technology you shared with us is awesome. I can see it benefiting like tammy said inexperience drivers or even experience drivers that sometimes get distracted easily. I would imagine like you said that it won't be standard yet for the average consumer but in time just like the rear view camera when it came out only certain vehicles had it and now it's almost a standard feature with all new vehicles. Thanks for sharing
Alex
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome tech, I can see many uses for this in the military. This will be like the back up camera. It was also an expensive feature when it was first developed. Now it is a standard on most new vehicles, since it is considered an added safety feature. This new technology could be implemented in larger vehicles that have so many blind spots. I found this article that explains the amount of fatalities that have occured because of frontal blind spots, this is definitely a way that can mitigate this from happening. My vehicle has 360 cameras, but you have to consciously employ this feature for it to be of any use in mitigating an accident. This new technology seems that it would always be active during the vehicle movement, making it better in preventing accidents. Thanks for the incite on this new technology.
Walt