Zeiss Smart Glass: Transparent Mid-Window Camera

German optics giant Zeiss is set to showcase its Multifunctional Smart Glass technology at CES next week. This innovative technology has the capability to project “holographic” and augmented reality content onto a transparent surface.

Its applications range from head-up displays in cars and 3D control elements in smart homes to featuring a transparent video camera positioned at the center of a glass panel.

Slender Polymer Film

The technology revolves around a slender polymer film capable of transforming various glass surfaces such as building windows, transparent screens, and vehicle side windows into customizable communication screens.

The company asserts that the film provides over 92 percent transparency, incorporates “ultra-high-precision optics,” and integrates projection, detection, illumination, and filtering capabilities.

IAA Mobility Discussion

In the ongoing IAA Mobility discussion, the upcoming technology showcase in Nevada will feature augmented-reality Head-Up Displays (HUDs) designed for automobile drivers. This implies that, beyond presenting essential dashboard and navigation details within a driver’s line of sight, the Smart Glass might also expand content display, including videos, onto side and rear windows.

This functionality could be utilized for Car2X communications, darkening window glass, or selectively making “projected text and images visible only from the inside or outside.” Zeiss also highlights the potential for “new levels of design freedom” in achieving “holographic” brake lighting.

Holocam

One fascinating use is the holocam, which uses special parts to redirect light to a hidden sensor. This would eliminate the need for holes or notches for the camera and sensor.

It might even allow cameras to be placed in the middle of a screen with minimal impact on image quality, although the demo at IAA Mobility seemed to only show black and white.

Zeiss also suggests that this setup could be extended to collect information about the environment, like air pollution and UV exposure.

Next Step

Additional options involve the use of gestures or voice commands to activate holographic control elements on a flat surface within a vehicle or smart home.

Windows could function as adaptable ambient lighting, and the micro-optical layer in glass surfaces could capture sunlight and direct it to a concealed solar cell for energy generation.

Zeiss

However, Zeiss doesn’t intend to sell complete products directly. Instead, it aims to be a system provider for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), providing a “distinct industrial-scale reproduction of holograms as a transparent layer to manufacturers or suppliers looking to improve their products and introduce new functionalities.”

These industrial solutions will be showcased at Zeiss’s booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall during CES 2024, opening to the public on January 9.

Read the Original Article: New Atlas

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