Apple seeks patent for an augmented reality windshield

While Apple continues (or doesn’t continue) to develop its plans for a self-driving automobile, the company is proposing an advanced high-end technology for an augmented reality (AR) display system that would generate a bunch of information onto a vehicle’s windshield.

In a U.S. Patent Office filing last week, Apple described a graphical overlay on the glass in front of the driver that would provide information about the real-time environment as well as data about objects in the distance — humans included — along with the vehicle’s speed, suspension and other factors.

The system, which may borrow on Apple’s science being employed in its soon-to-be-released Vision Pro headsets, would rely on a variety of sensors to collect information about the surrounding environment. This could include visible light cameras, various types of infrared cameras, as well as ultrasonic and light-based scanning devices for building up a three-dimensional picture of the car's surroundings. The patent also mentions the use of geographical positioning devices and radar devices.

Rather than just overlaying the physical elements of the environment, the AR project would essentially integrate elements into the full-scale projection on a large glass area — a complex operation — in a multi-dimensional model of the outside world.

Another feature buried in the 24-page patent filing under patent point #092 indicated that Apple is working toward a FaceTime application that would sync conversations between occupants in the same vehicle and/or those in another vehicle. Apple notes that "In some embodiments, an augmented reality display system included in a vehicle enables visual communication between an occupant of the vehicle and a remotely located user, including an occupant of a separate vehicle.”

Some of the proposals in the current patent application are not radically new. In 2018, Apple filed for similar system implementations that would flash extensive information onto a “smart” windshield.

Just a year ago at its annual developers event, Apple showed an updated version of CarPlay — it revealed CarPlay transforming an instrument cluster using virtual gauges, adding widgets such as calendar alerts and weather info. Display possibilities in the new CarPlay also provided access to native car info like engine RPM, coolant temperature, HVAC and radio controls.