Get rid of the Windshield

[Pluto]

Here's a fun idea to throw around... For cars that will become fully self-driving, why not replace the windshield with a curved, high resolution television? Windshields already cost several hundreds of dollars and this will allow maximum user-engagement with any media you have. Imagine watching movies the entire time, reclined in nice leather seats, with premium sound and self-tinting glass around the car. I feel like it would provide an experience better than at home or a theater! If you want to/need to see the road, high resolution cameras can allow the television to function as a windshield. And any overlays can easily be added on top.

I almost completely rely on the backup camera in my Tesla already. Overlaying a HUD on glass seems much more difficult and not as worthwhile as this anyways!

What do you think?

 

[S'toon]

...And what happens when that camera gets covered over due to mud, snow, ice, etc? What happens if there's a technology glitch? What happens to those who LIKE looking out a window? Pretty sure glass is cheaper than a screen. There are too many screens in our lives right now.

Pretty sure there's a previous thread on this topic.

 

[AudubonB]

Well, S'toon - the answer to your question might be "just the same as what happens when a windshield gets so encrusted: the wipers go to work".
Except - one can envision a situation where the minuscule aperture that is a forward camera lens could be far, far easier to keep pristine - and, for Alaskans and Yukonners, chip-free - than is any massive windshield.

I like the idea.

 

[S'toon]

Well, S'toon - the answer to your question might be "just the same as what happens when a windshield gets so encrusted: the wipers go to work".
Except - one can envision a situation where the minuscule aperture that is a forward camera lens could be far, far easier to keep pristine - and, for Alaskans and Yukonners, chip-free - than is any massive windshield.

I like the idea.

Is it milder in Alaska than in Saskatchewan? Here the entire front of a car is covered in shmultz by the end of winter. Almost nobody bothers to wash their cars in winter, since it just gets covered in muck within hours anyway.

 

[AudubonB]

Although I think the likelihood of this occurring to be minuscule, but not zero, and worthy of some consideration. I'm not sure if you (S'toon) are deliberating seriously or not. At any rate, a camera lens most appropriately might be placed high - at the level of today's windshield/roof interface, for example, and would be far less affected by glop. Or Saskatchewanian schmulz.

 

[Pluto]

What happens if any sensor becomes ineffective in a self-driving car? There's redundancy and backout procedures.

What happens if your kids start screaming in the back seats, you have a stroke, fall asleep on the road, or an animal stops in the middle of the road? There are plenty of other unlikely or preventable situations that can dramatically increase the chance of an accident for that to be a relevant concern.

 

[animorph]

Kind of kills the nice high-def 3D image we already get through a normal windshield. Plus I'd probably barf if I was watching a movie instead of where I was going.

 

[Ludus]

Tesla just got it's second former MS Hololens employee. There's a lot of talk that Tesla plans an advanced HUD display for Model 3. This is a variation of the topic. The windshield would still be glass but would also function as AR display without need of a headset. The display could be much more sophisticated than other HUD displays and reflect the car's identification of the world around it.

 

[ElectricTundra]

I don't like to eat in restaurants that don't have a lot of windows. I'd not want to ride around in a car that doesn't.

We humans are social beings? The vast majority like connections with other humans even if it is limited to seeing them pass by a window?