According to the US Newsweek website, at the beginning of this month, Apple submitted a patent application file to the US Patent and Trademark Office. The company is preparing to turn the car windshield into a head-up display with augmented reality.
The so-called head-up display means that during driving, the driver does not need to look down at the various dashboards. You can view various information through the windshield and understand the vehicle speed, engine speed, temperature and other information. Head-up display technology improves driving safety.
Apple emphasizes that the content displayed on the windshield does not block the driver's view, and the information will be superimposed on the glass in a transparent manner.
Apple's patented technology will rely on a large number of sensors or monitoring devices, including infrared cameras, ultrasonic sensors, car headlight scanning equipment, depth of field cameras, radar equipment, GPS equipment, etc.
Apple said that on the front glass displayed on the head, the driver can see the map navigation information and can also see the speed of the vehicle.
Apple also mentioned that drivers can also display FaceTime (Apple's video chat service) information on the windshield, which makes it easy to chat during driving.
Apple wrote in the application file that in some applications, the augmented reality display system of the car's front windshield can support the driver and the remote user, or another driver can make a video call.
Apple's patent also includes another technology called 'Driver Panic Surveillance'. Apple's system will fully monitor the driver's stress status, such as observing eye movements, body posture, body temperature, blink frequency, heart rate, body Actions, etc. Apple will also adjust the display of the front glass head according to the monitoring results.
Whether Apple will develop products based on patented technology is still unknown. In fact, Apple's patents are not necessarily converted into actual sales of goods or technology.
For example, in 2013, Apple applied for a patent, which is a fusion of tablets and laptops. The tablet can be connected to the keyboard through a magnetic connection. Until today, Apple has not released a similar product.
In addition, in 2010, Apple also applied for a patent for a smart bicycle that can use sensors to monitor the speed, distance, or rider's heart rate of the bicycle.
In April of this year, Apple's other vehicle-related patents were exposed. According to the design, Apple plans to make the future self-driving car a closed virtual reality experience tool. Users who don't need to drive can use the ride process as a virtual reality game. .
Earlier, Apple had already deployed autonomous car business, and sent dozens of unmanned vehicles to test on the public road in California. However, according to foreign media reports, there is a huge gap between Apple's autonomous driving technology and leading companies such as Waymo. Even behind two or three years.
The photos of Apple's self-driving cars are also exposed, and the layout of various sensors also shows that the product is not perfect.
According to some industry insiders, Apple has always favored the soft and hard closed business model. In the future self-developed self-driving cars, Apple is very likely to transplant the existing iOS application ecosystem, which will be suitable for transportation, travel and tourism applications. The software is migrated to the in-vehicle information platform.