Carmaker1

Seems that this new patent might concern technology for the 2018 LS, if not the 2018 LC (they are currently mum about LC tech innovations).

From PC Mag and Autoblog:



Windshields may be getting a smart upgrade in the future, if Toyota has anything to do with it.

According to Autoblog, the Japanese automaker has patented augmented reality windshield technology that could keep you better informed about what's up ahead. Automotive head-up displays already show things like speed and navigation directions on the windshield, the report notes, but Toyota's patent takes this a step further: it dynamically moves information around to the optimal spot.

"An [engine control module] analyzes the steering angle and speed, a front-mounted camera identifies the lane markings, and an interior camera finds the driver's viewpoint," the report notes. "By combining this data, the system moves the information around the windshield to be in the best location."

For instance, as you start driving faster and gazing father into the distance, the display will move up and get smaller, so it's easier to see.

Toyota's patent seems both incredibly useful and quite realistic," Autoblog says. "The individual components for this tech already exist, but [Toyota's] idea employs them in new ways. We hope the company licenses the idea out for other HUDs because the applications could be a lot of fun."

The technology could, for instance, be particularly useful if combined with Samsung's Smart Windshield for motorcycles, eliminating the need to look down. Unveiled earlier this week, Samsung's high-tech screen syncs with your mobile device to report incoming calls and texts, highlight GPS navigation, and provide other notifications — "so you can keep both hands on the handlebar."

Sulu

With this new augmented-reality Head-Up Display, Toyota could start to offer some navigation system features that are now (only) available on aircraft.

1. True, turn-by-turn navigation, projected onto the windscreen, showing the driver exactly where the next turn will be, that is updated in real-time as the car gets nearer to the turn, rather than the arrow on the map and/or the (almost useless) verbal "turn right in 500 metres". (How many drivers know exactly how far 500 metres (about 3-tenths of a mile) is?)
2. Offer "enhanced vision" with special, filtered-frequency cameras: The HUD could highlight upcoming traffic lights or specifically-coloured road signs, that changes (seemingly getting closer) in real-time, even in low-visibility (night or fog) situations. The ability to highlight upcoming traffic lights could be especially helpful if the driver is driving in an area where the traffic lights are not mounted in the same manner as the "home" (e.g. driving in areas that have horizontally-mounted traffic lights rather than the "usual" vertical traffic lights).
3. Offer "synthetic vision" with night-vision or low-light cameras: The HUD could show road and road-side features that may be blocked due to darkness of night or fog or smog, again the features seemingly getting closer as the driver approaches them.

chromedome

That's getting close to autonomous driving already. Teslas already have traffic sign recognition, if you can predict the next upcoming turn then you might as well let the car drive itself.

tex2670

isn't that essentially what this is? Autonomous driving info, relayed to the human driver instead of the computer driving the car?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

these are cool things but i think 1 (above bold) has been around a while in various forms.

bmw
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...p_display.html

pioneer
http://telematicsnews.info/2012/05/1...nology_my3131/

your own tablet or phone for $5
http://gpsworld.com/gps-hud-windshie...vigate-safely/

Vladi

Im sure he meant more something like this




It's coming as soon as they figure out how to project across the whole windshield for dirt cheap and without any exterior reflections.

Sulu

Exactly! Show me with an arrow overlaid onto the image of the roads ahead where to make the turn. That way, I merely "drive" the arrow into the turn.

The "turn right in 30 metres" arrow or voice-over is available now but is almost useless, especially in stressful (such as fast-moving traffic) situations. Who can truly judge small distances when driving? And by the time the driver digests and interprets the information, that distance has gotten (much) smaller, perhaps even missing the turn.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

Augmented reality is different. Everyone knows HUD exists but no car makers have done AR with HUD.

spwolf

I hope they do it but companies patent a lot of stuff that never sees light of day

Sulu

Augmented reality involves overlaying computer-generated images (CGI) on the display of reality as seen through the glass of the viewport. But what we see out the viewport will change if we change the angle that we look at it; so if we move our head -- or merely move our eyes -- what we see will change.

If the viewport is a set of goggles (using no outside vision virtual reality goggles, our view out the viewport is filtered through a camera) or glasses (e.g. Google Glass), that is relatively easy. Since the goggles or glasses stay on our head, as we turn our head, the viewport changes also.

But if we look out through the car's windshield, what we see out that viewport constantly changes, not only as the car is speeding down the road, but as we turn our eyes or our head. The augmented reality images will be correct for one perspective (car in one position and head in one position) but will change as soon as the car moves and/or as we move our head; the CGI will have to change as we move down the road AND as we move our head. This will involve not only tracking the view forward through the windshield but constantly tracking our head position also.

chromedome

Microsoft's HoloLens already does this, although with a head mounted display. It can overlay 3D imagery on real world surfaces and keep track of it as you turn your head - imagine a virtual window mapped onto a blank wall that always maintains the correct scale and perspective as you move around.

It's a lot harder to do in a car because there's so much ambient light. I've tried using a phone linked to an OBD reader for a cheap HUD, it's only visible at night although it's nice to see things like coolant temperature and hybrid pack state-of-charge on the windscreen.

Nextourer

This could further evolve. Land Rover is tackling this with a virtual transparent hood



And Jaguar has a Virtual Urban Windscreen concept. I prefer the arrow on the road rather than a ghost car (like Gran Turismo or Forza) for navigation, however.