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New Car Heads-Up Display To Be Controlled By Hand Gestures, Voice Commands
Lucas123 (935744) writes "A new company has just opened a crowdsourcing campaign for a heads-up display that plugs into your car's OBD II port and works with iPhones and Android OS-enabled mobile devices via Bluetooth to project a 5.1-in transparent screen that appears to float six feet in front of the windshield. The HUD, called Navdy, works with navigation apps such as Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions, and music apps such as Spotify, Pandora, iTunes Music and Google Play Music. Using voice commands via Apple's Siri or Google Voice, the HUD can also write, read aloud or display notifications from text messages or social media apps, such as Twitter. Phone calls, texting or other applications can also be controlled with hand gestures enabled by an infrared camera."
If a display is not integrated into the car itself, and in particular where the *sole* purpose of a display should be to assist in driving the car safely, then it's going to be considered a distraction from driving, and therefore not going to be legal to use while driving.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Yeah it does seem like a bad idea to be watching videos while driv.... Ooh cute kittens dancing must watch LIKE LIKE LIKE!!!
Is this really the best way to control something in a car? Do we really want drivers taking their hands off the steering wheels to make silly motions in space while they're driving?
I mean, maybe it'll work. Maybe it does make sense. But my initial reaction is skeptical.
As an american ive been using hand gestures and voice commands in traffic for years now.
Good people go to bed earlier.
I assume they mean that it appears focussed at six feet away, but it subtends as much of your viewing angle as it currently does on the dashboard. So if it's five inches across and three feet away from your face, it looks like it's actually ten inches across and six feet away.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
So, instead of people taking their hands of the steering wheel to hold onto their phone, they're going to take them off the steering wheel to control their stuff with gestures???
Seriously people, are you actually designing something for people who are driving cars?
Here's a suggestion, save your damned text messages and social media updates for when you're not bloody well driving.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I have a better idea, why not get a customized plate with your SSN? At least doing so has no potential of killing you in a high-speed crash.
Your OBD II port has direct access to CANBUS, as such plugging anything with wireless connectivity puts a huge "remotely mess with my car" sign on it. Throw in Bluetooth and possibly unpatched Android into the mix and you are inviting every script kiddie out there to turn your car into a video game.
My brother was just rear ended by someone who was talking on the phone. People do not need more distractions while driving. A HUD should be limited to presenting information that helps people drive. Talking on the phone even hands free is still a distraction, visual navigation systems are also an unnecessary distraction. Honestly people put the phone down and pay attention to the road, your life and the lives of others depends on it.
"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."
Rather than provide fancy new 'heads up' displays for drivers or built-in smart phone driver docking stations for drivers with their 'heads up' their ass, we should be working on roadside electronic surveillance and longer prison sentences for the drivers who kill people while using their smartphone.
While I agree that distraction is an issue, and solutions should be found, and I also agree that this device sounds like more distraction, longer prison terms solve nothing. Incarceration does not stop drug use, threat of life in prison does not deter murderers of bank robbers. No matter the differences in incarceration percentage or average length of incarceration, developed countries crime rates stay relatively stable. The few things being tougher on any crime does do well is break up families, provide jobs to the prison workers, and create a hated underclass that is likely to turn to crime again.
This is not to say that there should be no punishment for crime, but to say the money would likely be much better spent on proper prevention. Not more police, swat toys, and police programs, but things like education, family planning , job training, addiction recovery, even driver training, etc. For the cost of putting 2-3 people in prison for a year, a town could hire a person to do distracted driver training and testing on a closed course. All you need is an empty parking lot and some cones.
Silence is a state of mime.
But, you see, there was a fly in the car and as I tried to swat it...
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Yeah, whatever. Alpine will soon be releasing a head unit that supports Apple CarPlay. That's what I'm waiting for. In fact, I haven't been this excited in aftermarket car audio in well over 20 years. =)
Life is not for the lazy.
Agreed. On the other hand if plugged into the OBD-II port it should also be able to display dashboard and other useful info. I'm actually kind of surprised they didn't capitalize on that more - for example I kind of like the idea of a compact speed gauge floating over my front bumper - no need to look down to double-check my speed while driving through a school zone, and it could easily be overlayed on one corner of the map.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Crowd sourced or not, it is illegal in most states and subject to being seized, in addition to the driver being cited. Simply turning it on is often illegal, even if you only use the navigation functions, because these kind of devices require being locked out when in motion, except for backup and instrubment video. Many states it is illegal just to drive with it installed, even if never turned on.
http://www.ce.org/Consumer-Inf...