Glasgow Caledonian University is currently developing a fighter-jet-style windscreen capable of displaying to drivers the location of other cars in dense fog. The new heads-up display (HUD) could substantially cut down the amount of accidents that occur in poor weather conditions. HUD is the work of Professor Vassilis Charissis and his team based in the Virtual Reality and Simulation Laboratory (VRS Lab) at the School of Engineering and Built Environment. The display had originally been developed and evaluated in a 3D driving simulator capable of letting drivers navigate perfectly reproduced simulations of the M8, the M74 and the M80 in a number of different conditions. One of the simulator's main options lets the driver drive down the motorways in a dense fog before giving them the chance to drive the same stretch again using the HUD. When the HUD is initiated, the car's windscreen highlights any other vehicles within a 400 metre range, and is even capable of letting the driver know when it's safe to change lanes. Professor Charissis said: 'Driving is a demanding psychomotor activity which can be significantly hampered by adverse weather conditions. 'Being able to see clearly obstacles on the road while driving, despite visual restrictions such as thick fog, is important to avoid collisions. Head-up displays are a potential solution to this problem as they can provide the user with information directly in the field of view, allowing the driver to remain focused on the road. 'The HUD system projects crucial information on the windscreen, using augmented digital input to enhance the real environment. The presented data can provide notification of road markings, the proximity of neighbouring vehicles and warnings of traffic congestion to enhance human responses and improve driving safety.î Spatial and situational awareness has been shown to suffer in poor conditions, with other vehicles and objects being harder to see (and as a result, harder to avoid). Professor Charissis is an award-winning computer scientist and engineer who's participated in a wide range of different academic projects investigating Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). More than 150 different user trials have already been performed as part of evaluating the HUD interface, and the response times for every day drivers have improved by up to 70 per cent on average, indicating that the project could eventually have a huge impact on the UK motoring world.
