Companies like Mercedes have been going hog-wild on integrating augmented reality into cars like the S-Class so that they project turn-by-turn directions and more onto your windshield as you drive. It’s super cool, but Ford is having a go at it too, with its new high-resolution headlights, which it announced on Monday.
These fancypants new headlights will not only bend around curves but, in places where it’s legal, they will project things onto the road in front of you like speed limits, turn directions, road conditions, and more. It’s like driving in a video game, only not.
“What started as playing around with a projector light and a blank wall could take lighting technologies to a whole new level,” said Lars Junker of Ford Europe in a statement. “There’s the potential now to do so much more than simply illuminate the road ahead, to help reduce the stress involved in driving at night. The driver could get essential information without ever needing to take their eyes off the road.”
The lights, which are currently in testing, are not totally dissimilar from Mercedes’ Digital Light headlight technology which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show (RIP) in 2018. However, this seems to be the first implementation of this kind of tech from a more affordable vehicle brand.
The Ford high-definition headlights are currently in the testing phase, and while they’re super cool, don’t expect them to make their way to the US any time soon, given our particularly draconian laws surrounding vehicle lighting.