News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
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.
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.
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.

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

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.
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.
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.

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.
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.
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.