New display for car windshields similar to Iron Man HUD
A new Indiegogo campaign has started that wants to enable a smartphone display on your car’s windshield, an invention that could be more convenient for users but has also raised concerns about raising the risk of car accidents.
Technology start-up NeXt has designed HeadsUP!, a new project that projects a visual display of commonly used cell phone features onto the windshield of your car, such as texting, e-mails, and voice calls. The point is to enable the car’s driver to access these features on their smartphone without needing to look down at the actual phone or looking through their purse or pockets to find the phone while driving.
Launched last Wednesday on the popular crowdsourcing site Indiegogo, the project has so far raised just under $1,000 of its $50,000 financial goal.
While NeXt is claiming that the device, which enables voice dictation and touch-free swiping, will not put users at a greater risk for car accidents, it seems as though the Indiegogo crowd has some reservations about further enabling the use of a smartphone while driving; and rightfully so, though using the device is supposedly much safer than “traditional texting,” according to its creators.
Headsup display
Studies have shown that drivers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to get into a car accident, according to a report by USA Today , and there is certainly no shortage of evidence to support this conclusion.
Furthermore, in a country that is becoming more and more aware of the dangers of texting while driving, with more and more states vying to ban the practice altogether, the applicability of the device should be called into question: chances are it won’t sell quite as highly as anticipated if the practice it helps with becomes illegal.
Nevertheless, NeXT, which is currently seeking a patent for its device, is still welcoming donors, who will receive the earliest version of the HeadsUP! device if they contribute $299 to the fund.
For more information, visit Indiegogo!
Source: Mashable
Advertisement
