A German specialist glass manufacturer has created a "magnifying" windscreen so drivers with poor vision can see road signs more clearly.
It's on trial with "a Bavarian automaker". The dioptic device occupies part of the windscreen immediately ahead of the driver as an area of planed glass embedded with millions of zero-refraction piezo crystals that can be optically tuned for individuals.
"Initial trials have proved very successful," Erste Vierte, optical engineering director at Optische Tauschung, said on April 1.
In effect, the dioptic panel is similar to spectacles sold by chain chemists but differs in that the degree of magnification is infinitely variable from +0.5 to +3.0 according to the driver's needs. No prescription is necessary.
The higher the diopter setting, the greater the degree of magnification. "At the maximum setting, it's like moving the road sign 50m closer to the driver," Vierte said.
"On freeways this is particularly useful as the reaction time at high speed is greatly reduced. At junctions the test drivers report earlier awareness of stop signs - revealing a collateral benefit not anticipated: a reduction in brake-pad wear."