GM RESEARCHED VISION-ENHANCING WINDSHIELDS.

Gadgets like this night vision system will be a precursor to all future windshield enhancements.
When Coke bottle glasses just won't cut it for safe driving, a futuristic windshield might do the trick.

General Motors researchers are working on a windshield that combines lasers, infrared sensors and a camera to take what's happening on the road and enhance it, so aging drivers with vision problems are able to see a little more clearly.

Though it's only in the research stage now, the technology soon will be more useful than ever. The 65-and-older population in the United States will nearly double in about 20 years, meaning more people will be struggling to see the road like they used to.

GM's new windshield won't improve their vision, but it will make objects stand out that could otherwise go unnoticed.

At the same time, developers say the technology won't cause drivers to plow into trees. It enhances just a few objects already in a driver's view without splashing distracting information onto the glass.

For example, during a foggy drive, a laser projects a blue line onto the windshield that follows the edge of the road. Or if infrared sensors detect a person or animal in the driver's path during a night drive, an outline is projected on the windshield to highlight its location.

It's all possible because of a transparent coating on the windshield that lights up when struck by ultraviolet light.

Source: Forbes Auto