Samsung has unveiled a ‘smart’ screen that allows motorbike riders to have text messages beamed safely into view.
The mobile giant has been lauded for investing heavily in new, potentially revolutionary technologies – the latest of which has been dubbed the ‘Samsung Smart Windshield’.
It released a promotional video for the new product (created in partnership with motorbike manufacturer Yamaha) which appears to show a projector beaming updates onto a rider’s screen. When it’s connected wirelessly to a mobile device, riders are alerted to messages or phone calls coming through. The device could also double up as a SatNav, with route directions being beamed onto the screen.
The video, in which Samsung claims its product is “the first screen created for your safety”, also shows an automatic reply functionality. When a call comes through to the rider, a message is instantly triggered that tells the caller: “I am driving, I will call you back as soon as possible.” The promo also suggests this new screen would be compatible with WhatsApp and Gmail, among others.
Though still only a concept, the screen is expected to generate great interest among the motorbiking community so could become a commercially-available product within years or even months. In fact, autoblog’s Jeremy Korzeniewski went so far as to claim the product “needs to go into production ASAP.”
Writing for autoblog.com, he went on: “Every once in a while, a concept comes along that makes so much sense you wonder why it doesn’t already exist. The Samsung Smart Windshield is one such example.
“The concept allows a rider to see navigation information and can send automated responses to emails, phone calls and text messages while the bike is in motion. While we’re tempted to say something like this could distract a rider, let’s not pretend that plenty of people aren’t already listening to music, glancing at a navigation system or even reading a set of directions printed on paper and attached to the tank or strapped on a wrist.”
Korzeniewski concluded by saying that even though the product is just a concept and as yet not in production, he “can’t imagine it’s not coming soon.”
That said, some people have voiced concerns. The Verge’s James Vincent called it “both a great and terrible idea.” He said that drivers don’t need any more distractions when on the road – least of all motorbike riders. He went on to note, though, how glancing down at a display is decidedly safer than grappling with a smartphone when on the go.
Either way, Samsung has been praised for pushing the envelope yet again, following on from other recent projects, which included beaming live footage recorded from the front of a truck onto its back, to essentially make it ‘transparent’ for motorists trailing behind.
