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A comment on Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen?.

Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by t0mas88 on Monday September 12, 2022 @09:56AM (#32810300)
I don't understand how they call a head-up display a premium feature and then continue to describe matrix-led-projection headlights that are only on the high end models of premium German brands.

Head-up displays are available in a relatively mid-range BMW 3 series from over 10 years ago. It's an option you have to pay for, but so will these lights be.

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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by kube-system on Monday September 12, 2022 @09:59AM (#32810349)
Yeah heads up displays have to be at least an order of magnitude cheaper to produce, if not more.
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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by hendrikrassmann on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:03AM (#32810423)
1.3 million micro-mirrors per headlight :D God forbids we (Germany) just build good cars that get you from A to B.
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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by jerf on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:31AM (#32810892)
That may sound weird, but it's actually off-the-shelf tech for a couple of decades now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing It's already the most common projector technology, not something new they're developing just for this.

1.3 million mirrors is actually low-resolution by modern standards.

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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by woobar on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:48AM (#32811160)
DLP TV mirror chip from 15-20 years ago had 2M mirrors.[1]

[1] https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/dlp1.htm

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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by rootusrootus on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:13AM (#32810582)
Depends on the system. The older ones that are still most common are just screens facing up in the dash that reflect off the windshield. They are also nearly 100% blocked during the day for anyone wearing polarized sunglasses, which limits their usefulness. Newer HUDs use lasers and work with polarized glasses, but of course they are a more complicated, expensive technology.
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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by kube-system on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:16AM (#32810651)
I’m not saying HUDs are great, I’m saying they’re relatively simple compared to this tech.
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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by SkyPuncher on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:11AM (#32810542)
Yes and no. I believe this technology is an extension of selective darkening headlights.

Essentially, a camera system can detect surrounding vehicles and selectively darken the lighting around them. It means you could effectively always run your high-beams since the vehicles around you won't be blinded.

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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by kube-system on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:14AM (#32810605)
That’s a much better use of this technology, because it actually exhibits better performance than the technology it replaces.
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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by elf25 on Monday September 12, 2022 @01:25PM (#32813628)
'79 Lincoln TownCar did that with a single photocell, worked about 80% of the time. The tech is there and it's not expensive and I'd say could easily be improved with multiple low cost sensors.
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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by kube-system on Monday September 12, 2022 @01:47PM (#32814049)
The selective dimming they're referring to is variable in beam pattern, rather than the boolean high/low beam pattern of traditional vehicles.
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Re:Should we let cars use the road as a projection screen? by reaperducer on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:18AM (#32810680)
Head-up displays are available in a relatively mid-range BMW 3 series from over 10 years ago.

Heads-up displays were available in cars at least as far back as the 1990's. Perhaps earlier.

These days, you can get an app for your smartphone that doe the same thing. You just velcro the phone to your dashboard under the windshield and the backwards HUD is reflected in the glass.

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