Back in 2010, General Motors said they had been working on computerised windscreens that would help drivers stay alert on the road.

Features would include highlighting the edge of the road, for example, alerting potential obstacles and assisting with directions. That was three years ago…

So where are we now? What could the future hold for car windscreens? In this article, we’re going to speculate what sort of technology could be introduced over the coming years – it’s by no means a ‘plan’ of what will happen; more a look at what could be coming our way.

Augmented reality

It’s no secret that developers all over industry have been working on augmented reality – but what could this mean for our car windscreens?

Well, to put it simply, our windscreens could turn into a virtual platform of information – like a hologram – where icons appear as you approach shops, landmarks, frequently visited locations or even traffic jams. Pointing your hand at these icons, or scrolling using a dial on your steering wheel, could open them up to show real-time information.

Let’s say you’re approaching your favourite restaurant – an icon would appear telling you if they had any tables; you could then wave your hand at the icon to confirm a booking. It could even tell you if your friends are nearby – so you could invite them for a drink or two! Or let’s say you’re driving past your local sports centre and fancy a game of tennis later that evening – a simple wave of the hand could have that booked in a matter of seconds.

It was Mercedes-Benz who brought this idea into reality at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show – proving this sort of technology isn’t too far out of our reach.

Augmented reality won’t just be used to provide you with social information, though. Your virtual windscreen could provide you with useful maintenance information, too.

At the moment, if we have an engine fault, most modern cars will produce a warning light on the dashboard. However, with an interactive windscreen – you could be notified of the fault and then directed to your nearest garage to have the issue fixed.

Your interactive windscreen could also notify you if it becomes chipped or cracked; by simply highlighting the area in question. This would no doubt prove to be a popular feature, as chips are sometimes so small they are hard to see! A windscreen repair company such as Shatterscreen could then be notified and send you an on-screen notification of when you can expect them to come and fix it for you. Remember, the sooner a chip is fixed, the better!

Finally, augmented reality (of this kind) could be used in driving lessons to improve the experience of the learner; helping them progress quicker and remain safe on the roads during their lessons – we all know how difficult some manoeuvres were when we were learning, so just think how much easier it would be with the help of on-screen arrows and guidance materials!

While we’re not at the stage of augmented reality windscreens just yet – it could just be a matter of years before you’re interacting with your windscreen in a whole new manner.

About the author – Daniel Dodgson is a freelance writer and car enthusiast.