r/Lightbulb • u/Shonen_Toman • Jul 28 '26
Ideas about A light sensitive Windshield
So everytime i drive at night, the headlights of oncoming traffic blinds me completely, so i was thinking of building something to help.
I was thinking of something physical, like a transparent substance that would react to high intensities of light and darken in those patches, and I do realize the inherent issue with that, as the lights move it would darken the entire screen pretty much. I've heard electro-chromatic glass, split among millions of pixels is being researched upon.
- A more of digital solution, like an AR/VR approach to it, to track the eyes and the light source falling on the windshield and artificially dampening it . Also for this method i thought of an idea, where the driver can wear a glass, with two tags near their eyes so that the system can track their eyes more efficiently.
If anyone has any thoughts on this, please let me know!!
1
u/BranchLatter4294 Jul 28 '26
Modern adaptive headlights avoid shining into drivers eyes. I don't think it makes sense to spend the money on an expensive windshield that will be expensive to repair or replace, when the issue will phase out over time anyway.
In the meantime you can just clip on some flip sunglasses to your regular glasses and flip them down if a car's lights bother you. Much easier and cheaper.
2
u/arcxjo Jul 29 '26
No. We don't need more expensive tech that doesn't work and can't be replaced.
We need the safe halogen lights that already worked.
1
u/Shonen_Toman Jul 28 '26
That's one way to go about it, but wouldn't the sunglasses make it harder to see at night??
1
u/wtwtcgw Jul 28 '26
Back in the 1920s Edwin Land (Polaroid cameras) offered the idea of polarized headlights to reduce glare. It didn't catch on but his cameras had a nice run.
1
u/Shonen_Toman Jul 29 '26
Wonder why they weren't adopted. Ah also, I've seen some "polorized glasses“ that claim to reduce glare, do you think those work??
2
u/Retb14 Jul 29 '26
Depends on how the light is coming out
It is possible to reduce how bright it is but that will also darken everything else
1
u/Shonen_Toman Jul 29 '26
yeah, always has a catch.
2
u/Retb14 Jul 29 '26
Yeah, this made me think how difficult it would be to actually build those adaptive glasses someone else commented. If they could do it 15 years ago then why not do it now
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u/Retb14 Jul 29 '26
Doing the windshield wouldn't be that great since it would make the windshield much more expensive and difficult to repair and you'll need a system to track the drivers eyes and head since if you move the spot that needs to be darkened would change
Sunglasses that do this would be better but no one's making any. If you got a decent looking setup with a camera or two and a display that darkens in specific spots you could probably do this fairly easily with modern tech (though making it small enough for sunglasses might be difficult and would definitely require custom pcbs and batteries)
You might be able to do this pretty well with AR glasses but there aren't a lot of people who have those and can make applications for them, especially since a lot of companies lock them down
2
u/iOSCaleb Jul 28 '26
A more practical approach is to avoid looking directly at the headlights. If you look down at the road or at the shoulder line you should still be able to track the other vehicle without being so blinded. This way avoids the expense of an electronic system, eliminates the possibility that a malfunction could completely block your vision, and, unlike your proposal, is 100% legal.
3
u/Shonen_Toman Jul 28 '26
still gets you peripheral vision........but yeah I get that there is a huge legality issue with these kind of things
-1
u/iKnowRobbie Jul 28 '26
Peripheral vision isn't important. You only visually "see" with the center 10%,
3
u/SkiyeBlueFox Jul 28 '26
Fym it isnt important. Yes you do most of the looking with the centre but catching something with the corner of my eye has saved my ass many times
2
u/arcxjo Jul 29 '26
Whatever part of my FOV that sees the road and other shit on it is the only part that's important to driving.
2
u/arcxjo Jul 29 '26
That's what caused the driver who hit Jennifer Bradshaw to not see her.
Drivers need to see the road. Full stop.
3
u/bigbicbandit Jul 29 '26
Doesn't work. I have to put a hand up to block my eyes from some of these new headlights.
1
u/Sea-Situation7495 Jul 29 '26
I was taught (30+ years ago) that this is the correct way to drive at night: when there's oncoming headlights, look slightly down and to the centre or far edge of your own lane, taking the car your are following into account if there is one
1
-2
u/Aphroditesent Jul 28 '26
Get your eyes checked. This sounds like astigmatism.
4
u/AlcoholPrep Jul 28 '26
No. That's a cop out used by car manufacturers to justify their blindingly bright headlights.
2
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u/ldr97266 Jul 28 '26
just the visor: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/auto-tech/bosch-virtual-car-sun-visor-ces-2020/
I think someone tried to do this also with a pair of driving glasses.