We’ve seen some brilliant concepts over the past few years (transparent smartphone, anyone?), but Land Rover’s new see-through tech has to be among the most innovative. It’s straight out of Die Another Day: using a clever mixture of cameras and heads-up displays, Land Rover has made the bonnet on its Discovery Vision concept car look almost completely transparent – showing off what’s directly in front of the car
and even the wheels themselves. Cars aren’t the only ones that could benefit from the tech though, and we take a look at other areas it could improve our lives.
and even the wheels themselves. Cars aren’t the only ones that could benefit from the tech though, and we take a look at other areas it could improve our lives.
Drive a Land Rover off road, at unusual angles, and you’ll quickly find the bonnet and the front of the car blocks the view ahead; sky is pretty much all you’ll see through the front window. So Land Rover has built a series of video cameras into the front of the Discovery Vision, with a heads-up display projected onto the windscreen, mimicking what’s in front of it, making the bonnet look like it’s transparent.
, mimicking what’s in front of it, making the bonnet look like it’s transparent.
The result? No matter what angle the car is facing, however stuck you’re about to get, you’ll always be able to see what’s directly in front of, and even slightly below the car.
is facing, however stuck you’re about to get, you’ll always be able to see what’s directly in front of, and even slightly below the car.
Check out the video below to see the invisible technology in action:
This could be just the start for the exciting augmented reality tech though, and here are some of the other areas we’d love to see it implemented.
Every road car
Invisible tech could be one of the best safety features ever introduced for a road car, proving more effective than kit like parking sensors or wide-angle reversing cameras. You’d instantly be able to see if there’s a small child, animal or bollard in front of or behind your car, and because the display is overlaid onto a part of your vehicle like the bonnet, there are no strange perspective issues, ‘fish-eye’ results or anything else to confuse you. No more blind spots? That really is something to look forward to!
spots? That really is something to look forward to!
The smart front door!
Invisible tech could be genuinely useful in and around the house. How about a smart front door? As soon as somebody knocks on the door, it could be set to turn invisible from your side, so you wouldn’t even need to get up to see who’s there. Just remember to switch it back again though – it’s bad enough walking into a closed patio door, it would be a lot more embarrassing walking into a slab of heavy oak!
Bye bye windows
Buildings – especially older ones – lose a huge proportion of their heat through ineffectivewindows. We wouldn’t want to ditch them completely in the name of a warmer, more energy-efficient home, but there’s definitely the potential to get rid of smaller windows around the place. How about bathroom windows for a start; you could have the perfect, clear view out, yet all anybody sees from the other side is a brick wall instead of you with your trousers round your ankles. Just don’t try and climb out…
for a start; you could have the perfect, clear view out, yet all anybody sees from the other side is a brick wall instead of you with your trousers round your ankles. Just don’t try and climb out…
No more travel sickness
It’s an argument you’ll have heard loads if you have kids: “I’M NOT GOING IN THE BACK, ITMAKES ME FEEL SICK!”, but it’s also a fair point if you travel on public transport. Not being able to see what’s ahead makes plenty of people feel iffy, and this could be solved with Land Rover’s invisible tech. All the seats in front of you, even the front carriage of a train could completely disappear, so you get to watch the track
hurtling towards you at 100mph. Would certainly liven up the commute…
hurtling towards you at 100mph. Would certainly liven up the commute…
Disappearing office walls
Disappearing office walls could ruin your ability to play Flappy Bird or browse the GadgetShow website when you should be working, but they could also be incredibly useful if you want to keep an eye on what’s going on. Tap a button and entire walls could seemingly disappear, with microphones and speakers to let you chat with colleagues as if the walls were truly gone. As with the invisible door though, just remember which walls are where, as the invisible office assault course could become a daily ritual! Death to the cubicle!
Show website when you should be working, but they could also be incredibly useful if you want to keep an eye on what’s going on. Tap a button and entire walls could seemingly disappear, with microphones and speakers to let you chat with colleagues as if the walls were truly gone. As with the invisible door though, just remember which walls are where, as the invisible office assault course could become a daily ritual! Death to the cubicle!
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