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Apple working on AR displays for self-driving cars

By Marcus Wong - on 6 Apr 2018, 11:58am

Apple working on AR displays for self-driving cars

It appears Apple has just filed a patent for an “Adaptive vehicle augmented reality display using stereographic imagery” which could give drivers and passengers added information about the world around them while they’re on the move.

Apple suggests that a pre-generated  3D model of the world could be held remotely in cloud storage and be pulled up in tiles just like online mapping services. Data about road routes, points of interest, and other items of interest to the driver can also be held remotely in cloud storage and pulled down on-demand.

The on-board AR system could then present the information to riders and passengers, with one example presented as having the data projected on the vehicle’s windscreen. This extra downloaded data could  also be used to present information from areas beyond the range of both the driver’s vision and the car’s sensors so you can for example, take an alternate route if there’s a massive jam ahead.

Virtual graphics could also help in cases where visibility is poor, like heavy snow or fog. Pre-existing cloud data could present a more accurate view of the route and important notifications that on-board sensors might not be able to.

More information is almost always better, and in this case the self-driving car could potentially use cloud based traffic information to plan a better route. Real-time weather and terrain information could also allow the system to better prepare for the maneuvers it has to execute. (Or to choose the best course of action).

Source: AppleInsider, US Patent & Trademark Office

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