Car Makers Test Windshield Computer Displays

That is about to change. Auto makers including General Motors Co. and Daimler AG are working on specially designed windshields that they hope will one day share with drivers crucial information about their surroundings, helping to improve safety and efficiency.

Using a technology known as augmented reality, which overlays real world images with digital ones, these windshields could display driving directions, text messages or impending hazards, all without requiring drivers to take their eyes off the road.

“Everyone’s working on this,” said Tom Seder, GM’s chief technologist for human machine interface. “The goal is to reduce head-down time and maybe make driving a more interactive experience.”

Augmented reality windshields are a natural extension for car makers in their quest to one-up the competition for safety. Such windshields are likely to have simple graphics allowing drivers to see digital renditions of their surroundings, such as difficult-to-see road edges or animals, as well as drawing attention to erratic drivers.

“It has to be done very judiciously, you don’t want to clutter the windshield with too much information and cause it to be a distraction,” said Mr. Seder. “At the root of this is the desire to make vehicles safer.”

The technology would combine sensors outside the vehicle with ones inside tracking a driver’s eyes.

So, for instance, an augmented reality windshield could sense that a driver hasn’t seen a car merging into his or her lane or a sudden traffic slowdown ahead. The windshield might light up red or highlight the potential hazard to cause the driver to hit the brakes.

Following in the steps of aviation, a windshield that displays critical information isn’t a new idea. GM, with its now-defunct Oldsmobile line, released vehicles as far back as the late 1980s that projected the speedometer onto the driver’s glass.

Augmented reality has become a popular pursuit for tech companies these days. The technology is available in a variety of smartphones, which advertisers have used to beef up otherwise static ads. And app makers allow users to hold up their smartphones to display information about their surroundings, such as reviews of nearby restaurants.

Google Inc. is also working on augmented-reality headgear that can turn eyeglass lenses into a computer screen with superimposed graphics and other information.