GPs

GM Turning Car Windshields into Augmented-Reality Navigation Displays

Popular Science - March 19, 2010 - 3:44am

Still doesn't excuse driving one-handed while texting

Distracted drivers may soon get some warnings from their windshield displays about road hazards such as children playing in the street or vehicles in the driver's blind spot. General Motors has teamed up with university researchers to bring the concept to market around 2016, the New York Times reports.

The enhanced vision system would monitor a driver's eye and head movements via sensors located both inside and outside the vehicle. The display would then overlay enhanced views of the road on top of the actual scene visible through the windshield. GM hopes that the augmented reality (AR) windshield display can allow drivers to view GPS directions without looking away from the road, and cope with difficult driving conditions in fog or at night. Read more »

Car Navigation Systems Could Show Available Parking Spots

Popular Science - February 9, 2010 - 8:17am

Looking for open parking spaces in the city is one of the more teeth-grinding rituals for drivers, but researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey may have hit upon a relatively low-cost solution. They combined ultrasonic sensors with GPS to create digital maps of available parking spaces for Web-based navigation systems, according to Technology Review.

As much as 45 percent of traffic in Manhattan comes from cars wearily circling the blocks and looking for parking spaces, according to a New York City transportation advocacy group called Transportation Alternatives. That problem has driven cities such as San Francisco to create "smart parking infrastructure" that detects vehicles in parking spots using fixed sensors -- a solution that costs $500 for installing and maintaining each sensor. Read more »