A pair recently filed patents by Honda reveals that the development of the Augmented Reality driving technology is on a fast track.
The patents filed by the renowned automaker include designs showing Head-Up Displays (HUDs) to reveal people and vehicles that would otherwise be hidden from view. Imagine that!
The first patent details the design for pedestrian detection technology. Although this technology is already embedded in vehicles like Tesla Model S, Honda takes it up a notch. Instead of applying brakes when any pedestrian steps in front of the vehicle, the proposed design would be able to detect more than one person and display their position on the AR HUD.
The system will also alert the driver to the position of the pedestrians that are out of his field of view. Thus, the drivers could act even before the car has to intervene.
The second patent details the design of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system to keep track of cars. The filing explains the proposed system with a queue of three vehicles. The V2V system would enable the leading car to communicate with the one in the middle and correctly estimate the distance between the two.
The middle car will transmit this information to the last vehicle which would receive the status of the lead car via the AR HUD, thus enabling it to view the lead vehicle through the middle car. The system will also alert the driver in the last car when the lead car stops, applies brakes, etc.
Given that Honda has already tested the V2V communication system in their bikes, we might see the technology hitting the roads sooner rather than later!