Drivers using Apple Vision Pro headsets prompt road safety concerns
npr.org
npr.org
For spatial computing to really work properly in a vehicle I think you need to keep track of both the world coordinate system and one that tracks the vehicle. In particular a lot of info from the IMU will have to be thrown out. It is probably useful to track small head motions but objects will drift eventually because of the vehicle as a whole accelerating and decelerating.
Windows in this mode stick to the relative position of your head, but they stay fixed relative to the orientation. The pass through is pretty good, even at night, low latency and good enough clarity for seeing cars and stuff.
1. https://www.tiktok.com/@alan_drives/video/733200801928426628...
These people are idiots.
Heads up displays projecting basic speed etc on to a windscreen are already a thing. They are fairly good/useful.
No need to wear a headset being bombarded with irrelevant notifications from social media, messaging etc. Headset likely to cause physical damage to yourself in a crash as well when the airbag goes off.
Wearing a general purpose interactive device while driving is bad for all the reasons why using a mobile phone while driving is illegal in many places. You are not concentrating on the road, you are distracted.
Sure, but a lot of cars don't have them, and that's just the speedometer, not the speed limit or navigation directions (which are usually what I'm glancing at my phone's map app to check)
> No need to wear a headset being bombarded with irrelevant notifications from social media, messaging etc.
I would hope they'd implement a driving mode that suppresses those kinds of distractions, but having that mode at all would need to be preceded by society acknowledging that these devices aren't fundamentally incompatible with driving. Note that my comment said I don't have an intrinsic problem with these kinds of devices being used. The current implementation of them may be sub-par, but I don't feel like there's any fundamental issue here.
> Headset likely to cause physical damage to yourself in a crash as well when the airbag goes off
That's a valid concern that I hadn't thought of, but we don't generally ban other unnecessary head gear in cars for that reason (sunglasses?), and it would apply just as much to passengers.
> you are distracted.
I don't think that's an absolute. You can potentially use it as a distraction, or you can use it responsibly, just like anything else.
There is a lot less mass/material to a pair of sunglasses than there is to a VR headset, though.
I would think its also worth mentioning the restricted peripheral vision you'll have when wearing a headset, too.
I lack the imagination for a responsible use case that isn't already covered by existing technology, and outweighs the risks related to a visual dependency strapped to your head running on battery.
Any suggestions? Otherwise, current assumption is that it's a case of wanting to make a point of owning something novel.
Most automotive HUDs show speed limits and navigation directions alongside speed.
That's not the case at all.
Two pictures from Audi: https://uploads.audi-mediacenter.com/system/production/media... and https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/q4etron01.... - navigation, speedometer and speed limit and more
All it takes is a fraction of a second
> I could honestly see them being a net positive to road focus by overlaying speed and navigation on the user's field of vision so they don't have to glance at their dash speedometer or navigation device all the time.
I get that with the HUD on my Audi and Lincoln with far less concerns.
> but it would take all of a second to whip the headset off if it suddenly went blank for some reason
The only way you're taking off the headset in "all of a second" is with zero concern for it landing on the floor or behind you or etc. Any care at all is 2-3 seconds.
That's around 100 ft. At lot happens there.
> most drivers regularly experience worse obstructions than that hypothetical one
Next time you're in a car close your eyes for 3 seconds (in the passenger seat) while paying attention to surroundings to get a feel for it, or take a video.
You are drastically underestimating things. Most drivers do not regularly get 1-3 second distractions and obstructions.
That may be a matter of perception, but that's the problem. Back in the day, surveys asked people how long Michael "Air" Jordan's "hangtime" (the length of time you spend in the air after jumping) was, and they gave numbers like 2-3 seconds.
In fact, the average hangtime is 0.53s, and the longest recorded is 0.9s.
Similarly, fun fact, 83% of drivers believe they are "above average".
There is no turn by turn navigation on it for a reason.
This is why we can't have nice things.