It's rush hour, and you're headed due West on your evening commute -- the sun burning holes in your eyes. You could flip down a window visor, trading your field of view for visibility. Or, with a prototype shown off at
Intel's 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair, you could simply let the windshield darken on its own. Two San Diego students (both accustomed to copious amounts of sunshine) rigged a Toyota Prius to do just that by stringing up
electrochromic panels, which dim when voltage is applied. The trick is figuring out when and where to apply it, because when the sun is shining the panels themselves all receive the same amount of light. So instead of gauging it at the glass, Aaron Schild and Rafael Cosman found that an ultrasonic range finder could track the driver's position while a VGA webcam measured the light
coming through, and darken the sections liable to cause the most eyestrain. We saw a prototype in person, and it most certainly works... albeit slowly. If you're rearing to roll your own, it seems raw materials are reasonably affordable -- Schild told us electrochromic segments cost $0.25 per square inch -- but you may not need to DIY. Having won $4,000 in prize money at the Fair, the teens say they intend to commercialize the technology, and envision it natively embedded in window glass in the not-too-distant future. Here's hoping
GM gives them a call. See pics of the Prius below, or check out a video demo of their prototype right after the break.
posted May 15th 2010 12:03PM
About time! I've thought of this exact idea before and always wanted someone to actually make it. This is awesome and I hope they make it into production cars soon.
Ditto... congrats to these guys for finally making something I've wanted for years.
@ChrisK15 Yeah this is one of those ideas that everyone has had. Respect for actually trying to do it though!
As someone said, a ounce of action is worth a ton of thought. Or something like that.
@ChrisK15
Imagine Transition glass windshields & sunroofs in the future... :D
@ChrisK15
But is it legal? In my country there's a law to limit maximum darkness a front- and side-window can have.
Now combine it with this giant heads-up display...
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/18/gm-shows-off-sensor-laden-windshield-new-heads-up-display-proto/
...and the OLED night vision windshield...
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/27/ir-detecting-oled-film-could-mean-cheap-night-vision-on-everythi/
...and you have your K.I.T.T. 2000! ;-) (almost)
@ChrisK15
I have had this idea as well, but for glasses. Outside on a bright summer day they become sunglasses, but indoors they become transparent.
Maybe i should patent it before Apple does.
@GGG You mean.. Transitions?
@ChrisK15
should've gone to Specsavers...
@GGG Already done. Sorry.
@Jacinth
hm damn, i thought it was too obvious :S
But aren't these glass panels just the same thing on a larger scale?
@hm9408
I've never seen a pair of transitions actually work properly. Every time i've seen them they're dark in dark and transparent in light.
@GGG It's something that deserves a patent.
@jacinth, as I said below, I don't know the patent you mention, the materials in either or that much about the patent system; but because someone has a *similar* tech doesn't mean this isn't patentable and/or marketable.
@ChrisK15 but dude, isnt this the same as photochromic glass except that it has arduino with it?
@ChrisK15
Too bad patents for this type of system exists .. a google brought up:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5305012.html
from back in 1994, and it's quite broad but they've described the automobile example (selectively dimming parts of the windshield to reduce incoming solar or headlight glare by tracking where the person's eyes are)
@ilh
Mine work fine. They take a second to transition each time-its not instant- but they work and work well.
@ChrisK15 Me too! This is an idea I talked about around 10 years ago. Good to see someone making steps in the right direction (unlike me who sat on my ass, even though I'm an electronics engineer).
@ChrisK15 Me too! This is an idea I talked about around 10 years ago. Good to see someone making steps in the right direction (unlike me who sat on my ass, even though I'm an electronics engineer).
I remember seeing wind shield darkening in one the 80's Knight Rider episodes, but at least now it's no longer just special effects and application theory. Kudos to these guys if they ever get it to the car part part manufacturers to include it in a model.
@ChrisK15
Wow we must all be geniuses because I was just about to embark on making such a product. I have a simpler method in mind but nonetheless synchronicity is a nice thing. I wish them the Best of Luck and Success in this endeavor. finally Those blasted halogens will stop blinding me.
@ChrisK15 you are also a pc and windows 7 was your idea
@ChrisK15
My glasses do the same thing...
@ChrisK15
K.I.T.T. had this in 1985, Man! I bet the Knight Rider replica crowd will be on this like flies on dog crap.
Video not available in the UK... not fair...
@DetlevCM
Same in Russia
@DetlevCM Sorry folks, video's now public for your viewing pleasure.
@Sean Hollister
Could you guys maybe cut down on the bittune music.
@Saad the other one
yeh, it hurt my ears...
An Arduino? Hackaday commenters are going shit all over this one.
First to comment on the success of these people, good luck :)
Finally, I smell instant adjustable tinted windows.
:)
I thought about a concept like this since I was a child cept it was over the entire window and it would track the sun to avoid glare while driving.
This would be pretty high up on a list of things you wouldn't want to go wrong at the wrong time.
@Eli Haj
But not being able to see where I'm going while traveling down the highway is pretty high up on my list.
@Wolfticket I wondering how well you can see inside a tunnel :/ You're driving in a sunny day and the whole windscreen is dark and now you can't see anything inside the tunnel.
definitely than lawsuits would be everywhere blaming that the car companies didn't properly vet the technology
i have had this feature on my glasses for ages... it's called PHOTOCHROMIC LENSES...
@abrli
yes indeed, my father's glasses also have that feature i think it's called colormatic around here
@abrli
Yes, but your glasses go all dark regardless what direction the sunlight is coming from. The real value in these panels is that they can track the source of the sun in relation to your eyes, so only the right panels turn dark.
I think that if they do this correctly, it may be turn into hundreds of little pannels scattered like a grid across the windshield so they can also work for sunglare from rear windows of cars in front of you, glare from sunlight bouncing off snow, water, etc., while still protecting from the direct sunlight coming from above.
@Trexx i mean... c'mon after all what's wrong with a pair of good old ray-ban? i luv those things!
@Trexx
I'd much rather one uniform tinting. I'll stick with my film.
Taking it one step further, they could do it on the driver-side window as well so if you're driving on a winding road (where the location of the sun would constantly change), you'll never get blinded from the sunlight regardless which direction it's coming from.
must suck for the passenger
I was excited until I saw it was on a Prius.
San Diego? These guys look pretty pasty white to be from SD; I thought even the geeks had tans down there! ;) lol
i was wondering how long this technology would take to go from eyeglasses to cars... i mean if my pearl 8100 auto dimmed why cant my car?
The problem are idiotic state laws which do not allow any sort of film or any light transmittance below 70%, no exceptions, ever, for no reason, etc. (except with a prescription sometimes).
I've long wanted to get a V-Kool film that is 70%, but blocks out something like 55% of solar radiation and infrared. This would mean WAYYY less solar heat, but it would be just as bright. Yet, that's illegal...
This would probably fall under the same idiotic anti-tint, anti-common sense laws. I mean, yes, 30% tint and even 50% has no place on a windshield, but there should be some allowance for technologies like that and advanced films that are very clear with light transmittance.
The trick I like to do to fix most of the glare issue is to wash the windows :D
Check GOOGLE patents. This concept has been around for a loooonnnng time. It is available on the Maybachs for the roof. The tech is also available for residential/commercial installations, for wall panels/windows. The only down side is the astronomical cost. That's why you don't see it more often - but, as with all tech, the price will come down as production scales up.
@jaquie I think one thing about patents involves materials and application, meaning a patent can't stop you (in theory, assuming I am correct) from making the same tech with better materials. It seems these materials are super cheap, so I don't think existing patents would prevent commercialization (except those damn legal fees should this have a huge market but little financial backing).