Despite all the technological innovations in materials and translucent printed circuits and displays, in-vehicle Windshields, Translucent Roof & Moon Roofs, and Windows have not integrated these core technologies, with minor exceptions.
Heated Windshields are made by laying a nearly invisible web of extremely fine tungsten wires within the windshield glass, so you may not be able to tell visibly if you have a heated windshield. The very thin web of tungsten wire (the same wire used in lightbulbs) layered in the glass is heated up to raise the temperature of the surface of the glass to defrost or melt snow and ice away from the windshield. While the windshield may not get hot or even warm, it will raise the temperature enough to bring the surface to above freezing so that ice, precipitation, and condensation do not build up, increasing the visibility of the road. Most heated windshield technologies use an electrical element to heat the window, making it easier for your wipers to clear condensation without affecting visibility and leaving streaks on the windshield.
The main benefits of a heated windshield are clearing away ice and condensation away from the windshield and improving visibility. The added benefit of that is not having to run the heaters or air conditioner to defog the windshield, saving gas and reducing noise levels by eliminating the blowers. This helps you in the long run by paying for gas less often, saving you money.
One of the simplest is the integration of High-Intensity Translucent Displays into both the Windshield and Side Glass.
Another feature option is Smart Glass designed for glass privacy & shading actuated by linear shift with no electricity or phase-changing material – a major cost reduction over the traditional smart glass. Some key attributes are:
- No wires/ no electricity needed and no awkward cords or rods.
- Instant switch.
- Privacy level tunable to as low as .002%.
- No live chemical reaction on switching reaction so does not break down and UV stable.
- Haze less than 1.5%
Switchable Glass Technology light-controlling sheet that lets its users transform windows into mirrors faster than what current technologies allow. The technology makes use of the production of hydrogen by water electrolysis to make the sheet either transparent or reflective. For comparison, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner windows feature glass that can be made transparent or reflective. However, the aircraft’s windows take about 30 seconds to change between states while this new technology allows for the same size glass to change states in just about 5 seconds.
PiezoWipe™ concept is an active self-cleaning process based on ultrasonic vibration, which targets the following types of contamination:
- Environmental (dust, dirt, mud, bugs).
- Weather (raindrops, fog, ice).
- Human (fingerprints).
The system can be used in combination with passive hydrophobic coatings. The process is performed on-demand or automatically, using sensors to detect contamination events and types. Does not require any human attention, labor, materials, or chemicals. Removal of contamination and icing is fast, and the energy consumption is low (no heat).
Alpha Micron’s liquid crystal technology called e-Tint® allow you to switch between a transparent or darkened state with no loss in visual integrity at the simple push of a button. With e-Tint®, size, shape, color, and level of tint color can be customized to meet various performance needs. Electronically controlled all-glass roofs, providing openness while blocking direct sunlight as needed. Windshields that adjust to lighting conditions or driver privacy preferences and films that enable changing interior themes.
Hyperformance Glass Products is the new hybrid glazing construction, lighter, thinner, and tougher Gorilla Glass forms the innermost ply of the laminate—effectively reducing the weight, increasing the durability, and improving the clarity of today’s automotive windows. Thin Gorilla Glass Hybrids are up to 10X more resistant to large, blunt force damage than conventional thick traditional windows. Windows defrost time is reduced by 30% from traditional glass.
Transparent Nanotube Hybrid Materials are transparent materials capable of delivering the heat density required for Auto Window Heaters. A transparent electric heating film is typically constructed by “sandwiching” a conductive material between layers of glass or clear plastic, traditionally polycarbonate or acrylic. These heaters can ensure the safe operation of devices keeping control panels operational in inclement conditions or clearing surfaces of unwanted snow, ice, or condensation.
ITO Coated Translucent Car Window Defrosting: Current Heated windows with wire technology require a 12v power supply with two separate heated areas working on both sides of the car with a small gap in the center of the screen. Power requirements for these windows are 12v with a resistance of 0.73 Ohms across the wire circuit. For the ITO coated version an optical coating thickness allowing for the best optical coating to be applied would require a DC-to-DC converter to step up the voltage. The maximum we would go up to for safety reasons would be 50v, this would equate to a 12.63 Ohms circuit which would give the optimal heating and coating for the best results.
Wireless Power Transfer into glass electric and power circuits for Plug & Play attachment of In-Vehicle Windshields and other Glass Windows, Panoramic Roof, and Moon Roof.
Material Science and Nanotechnology LCG® (Light Control Glass) technologies and embedded into or onto transparent materials. With the support of Daimler Innovation and Smart, Gauzy developed the first LCG ® Dark LC RetroFit film used to display images and video on a car window.
LCG ® provides a sophisticated and cutting-edge method to communicate location and time-based messages directly on a car’s window, which becomes transparent when ready to drive.
Just a few of the potential applications in Automotive are Sun visors in the front windscreen, Sun and privacy glazing for side windows, Sunroof for sun shading and heat protection, and others.
Energy Transparent Solar Technology designed for energy harvesting integrated into Panoramic Roof Glass. Invisible: 60-90% transparent using selective, Certified at 5% with roadmap to >10% power, Low cost: Standard thin-film deposition; low temp; <1 micron. The idea could be a Self-Powered Moon Roof.
PHOTOVOLTAIC GLASS solutions that s styled for vehicle interiors and targeted to deliver energy efficiency and powering vehicle features in key off conditions and reducing battery drain. Key Features of Smart Glass are
- Glazing powers its electronic dimming system.
- Generate their power to offsets energy consumption.
- Windows capture light during the day and emit it at night.
- Powers electronic opening and locking systems.
- Generates the electricity needed to operate the system
- Provides power for any other applications requiring electricity.
- Automakers could earn green credits for adding solar roofs to cars.
Raythink’s AR HUD Solution uses its patented technology – OpticalCore® to a wide-angle field of vision (FOV 23 degrees * 5 degrees @ 900mm eye relief, VID 15m ~ infinity). With this optical technology, we can move away from a dependence on HUD displays as shown on the PVB wedge-shaped film interlayer of windshields, and present a clear AR visual effect without ghosting on any windshields.
Eyrise Switchable Privacy Glass is a solution for comfortable working spaces, without compromising on confidentiality, daylight, and flexibility. The novelty of this product is the absolute transparency in the clear state: you do not see that privacy glass is installed until you switch it. Fast switching and high transparency under all view angles are key aspects for many applications. It also allows daylight to pass through in the translucent state.
Smart Windshield & Window Application to tint windows both in automotive mode and manually adjust. It must also be designed to block harmful UV rays and have a minimum haze effect (< 5%). Assume 12v power but looking to go beyond to make it wireless through a combination of 1,000 mAh battery and/or supercapacitor combined with energy harvesting technology. Another possibility might be to combine electrochromic windows and solar cells so that instead of uselessly reflecting away sunlight, darkened smart windows could soak up that energy and store it for later.
Gentoo Coatings is a clear coating that not only repels water but most oils and solvents. This makes Gentoo an excellent choice for preventing corrosion, graffiti, and many other applications. It is also able to withstand significant abrasion without sacrificing performance.
Edge Motion™ Technology uses a very different mechanical principle to generate sound. Instead of pushing from behind, like a traditional cone speaker, Edge Motion™-driven speakers use piezo-electric actuators to stimulate the sides of an optically clear acrylic glass stereo transducer to produce an extremely efficient, piston-like motion. The result is a thin, lightweight, and invisible transducer that produces rich, full sound across the audio range.
FlexSense thin-film, transparent sensing surface based on printed piezoelectric sensors. Good investigation to incorporate into Automotive Windshield and other glass applications. Using only a sparse set of sensors, printed on the periphery of the surface substrate they devised two new algorithms to fully reconstruct the complex deformations of the sheet, using only these sparse sensor measurements.
Alpha Micron’s Liquid Crystal Technology called e-Tint® allows you to switch between a transparent or darkened state with no loss in visual integrity at the simple push of a button. With e-Tint®, size, shape, color, and level of tint color can be customized to meet various performance needs.
Research Frontiers patented SPD-SmartGlass Technology is the same best-selling smart window technology that can be found on various car models from Daimler, McLaren Automotive, and other automakers. The MAGIC SKY CONTROL feature, which is now in use on tens of thousands of Mercedes-Benzes SLs, SLC/SLKs, Maybach, and S-Class models around the world, and more recently on four announced McLaren models, uses patented SPD-SmartGlass technology developed by Research Frontiers to turn the roof transparent by electrically aligning tiny particles in a thin film within the glass. With the touch of a button, drivers and passengers can instantly change the tint of their roof to help keep out harsh sunlight and heat and create an open-air feeling even when the sunroof is closed.
Brilliant Optronics can be laminated directly to existing glass. It thus can be remotely switched between transparent, tinted, privacy protection, and image display states. It overcomes major challenges of current smart window glass, including single function and high cost of glass replacement.
SPD-Smart Light-Control Technology enables any window, sunroof, or skylight to control the transmission of light by electrically aligning nanoparticles in the film. With the touch of a button, users can instantly tune the tint of their glass to help keep out harsh sunlight and block 95% of the heat in its maximum tinted (power off) state. Patented SPD-SmartGlass technology effectively blocks UV and infrared rays regardless of whether the glass is in its clear or tinted state, keeping environments cooler and protected.
Wideye® infrared transparent automotive glass for vision and non-vision glazing and LiDAR covers, tailor-made design of parts for optical sensors integration, and LiDAR/sensor’s global integration with partners.
Northwestern University developed a 3D Stereolithographic printer called HARP that can print object size of human hair. It used a patent-pending version that circulates liquid plastic to remove heat which can cause printed parts to crack. Northwestern’s solution to the problem lies in a nonstick liquid that behaves like liquid Teflon, known as a fluorinated oil. HARP’s 3D printing process uses a projected light through a window that solidifies the resin on top of a vertically moving plate. The nonstick liquid then flows over the window to remove the heat, and then circulates it through a cooling unit, therefore maintaining temperatures at high print speeds. As it is nonstick, the resin resists adhesion to the print bed, which increases print speed as parts do not have to be cleaved from the bottom of the print vat.
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