Good day,
Soon, drivers may no longer need to glance at their dashboard to get pertinent vehicle information. Continental and Silicon Valley company Leia are working on a 3D Lightfield Display that would allow imagery, including stop signs or traffic lights, to appear right in front of the driver on the instrument panel, and perhaps someday, the windshield.
“One of today’s greatest challenges in the automotive industry is to develop intelligent concepts for the human-machine interaction; to create solutions that enhance the driver experience and allow the driver to simply and effectively interact with the vehicle without becoming distracted from the road,” Dr. Frank Rabe, head of business unit Instrumentation & Driver HMI at Continental, said. “The new Lightfield display does not just bring the third dimension of the highest quality into the vehicle – the innovative technology also creates a new dimension of comfort and safety. In addition, our solution provides every vehicle manufacturer the possibility to enhance the driver experience for their customers and to differentiate themselves from competitors thanks to customized scopes for design.”
Lightfield displays are the next generation of medium, allowing not only the comfortable perception of 3D depth, but also the rendering of highlights, sparkles and other complex light effects, Continental said. The technology enables information to be safely presented to the driver in real-time, allowing the driver´s interaction with the vehicle to become more comfortable and intuitive. It also allows passengers in the front and back seats to share the 3D experience with the driver.
Leia co-founder and CEO David Fattal said that 3D will change the way drivers engage with vehicles, especially as they become more automated.
“The car is clearly the next frontier for Mobile,” said Fattal. “To us it’s a bigger, more immersive version of a smartphone with full 3D awareness of its environment. It’s a logical place to deploy our growing Lightfield ecosystem of immersive gaming, video streaming, social sharing or even e-commerce.”
The 3D-image produced by the Lightfield display is made up of a total of eight perspectives of the same object that subtly vary according to the point-of-view.
The new system is said to go into series production by 2022.
Did you know?
The National Interest reports that the average American car, truck and SUV remains in use for 16.6 years. Even if every vehicle sold in America today was electric, it would take until 2040 for 90 percent of the vehicle fleet to become electric.
Quotable:
“We have a very strong bench of scheduled railroad operators. What we need to have is a bit of a melting pot of cultures and skills coming from other industrial sectors. That’s why our chief information officer comes from FedEx, and why our chief mechanical officer comes from Southwest Airlines. We need to redefine what’s possible in the rail industry by stealing best practices or best technology from other sectors.”
– J.J. Ruest, Canadian National CEO, on a trend to hire executives from outside the industry
In other news:
Blue Dog Dems push forward on infrastructure
The Blue Dog Coalition of Democrats sent a letter to several groups on June 10 asking for their input on regulatory reform and policy solutions that could speed infrastructure projects. (The Hill)
Shift to lower carbon vehicles is not that easy
Research by the National Interest finds that simply getting people to buy zero-emission vehicles and truly transforming to a carbon-free society is more complicated than it sounds. (The National Interest)
Fuel prices could follow falling oil prices
Experts are predicting that fuel prices will start dropping, following an 18 percent drop in crude prices. (Bloomberg)
Worldwide Flight Services to haul cargo into Atlanta
Worldwide Flight Services has signed an agreement to extend its North American cargo network to Atlanta. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
New Zealand residents concerned about container ship noise
Residents in Dunedin, New Zealand, are pushing officials to reduce noise at the local port. (Stuff.co.nz)
Final Thoughts
The National Interest noted that it will take until 2040 to convert 90 percent of America’s vehicle fleet to electric – even if every vehicle sold today was electric. When municipalities target a ban on gas or diesel vehicles by 2040, this is the reason why. These calls are often politicized with cries of the technology isn’t ready, oil will never go away, etc., and punctuated with reports showing that there is no carbon reduction using today’s technologies. No one is calling on a ban of gas and diesel today, but rather 20-plus years from now, and we need to keep that in mind. We don’t know where the technology will be by then, let alone 10 years from now, but if there is no plan, we’ll be into the 22nd century before anything is done.
Hammer down everyone!
