Screened Out

Paul Treichler, Head of Sales and Marketing, Rain Technology

Screens are everywhere these days, from smartphones to laptops to displays inside your car. Staying focused amid all the input is a challenge.

For drivers, the stakes are especially high. A brief glance at a screen can mean the difference between a safe journey and a serious accident.

Today’s smart cars have plenty of screens: a cockpit display, a center console, and sometimes a heads-up display, or HUD, usually appearing on the windshield, showing speed, GPS coordinates, fuel levels, and other information. Higher-end vehicles often come with passenger infotainment displays (PIDs), allowing passengers to watch movies or play video games.

Although these screens can enhance the driving experience, they also risk diverting the driver’s focus.

“When a front-seat passenger is watching a movie, the driver can easily be distracted by it,” said Paul Treichler, head of sales and marketing at Rain Technology, a display technology innovator based in Boulder, Colorado.

Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel

Rain Technology’s experts, many with Ph.D.s, specialize in light-display technology. One of their innovations adjusts what’s visible on a laptop screen depending on the angle from which it is being viewed. If you’re sitting directly in front of the laptop, the screen is visible. But if you’re off to the side, the screen appears dark, protecting your information from prying eyes.

This same technology is being adapted for use in cars. When a passenger is watching a movie, the driver sees only a dark screen, eliminating the risk of distraction.

“Many in-car screens for passengers today have a film that permanently puts the display in privacy mode,” Treichler explained. “That’s good for preventing driver distraction, but there are times when you might want to share content between the driver and passenger. Maybe the car is in self-driving mode or parked somewhere, and the driver wants to look at the screen. Our solution allows you to turn privacy mode on and off as needed.”

Rain Technology’s expertise in directing light extends beyond screens. The company is also working on advanced lighting systems for vehicles, including adaptive headlights. Traditional headlights rely on mechanical parts to adjust the beam, but Rain Technology’s LED-based system can selectively illuminate or darken specific areas of the driver’s field of view.

“If there’s a car coming toward you in the other lane, we can darken parts of the far field by turning on different LEDs,” Treichler said. “This means drivers won’t need to manually turn off their brights to avoid blinding oncoming drivers.”

A database on wheels

As vehicles become more connected, the amount of data they generate is growing exponentially. This data is crucial for a range of applications, from identifying potential snoopers to personalizing the driving experience.

“Imagine you’re sitting in your car at a stoplight, and there are people walking around outside,” Treichler said. “You don’t want them looking inside and seeing what’s on your screens. Rear-facing cameras and AI-powered eye-tracking or facial recognition can help identify potential snoopers and enhance privacy.”

But data isn’t just about privacy. It’s also about delivering the right information at the right time. Whether it’s real-time translation, augmented reality (AR) glasses, or personalized infotainment, these applications require low latency and high bandwidth. With the advent of high-speed 5.5G networks, Treichler believes that real-time AI inferencing will become increasingly important in creating a seamless and personalized driving experience.

Cars: the third space

As autonomous vehicles become more common, one might assume that display technology will become less important. After all, if no one is driving, who needs a screen? Treichler, however, sees it differently.

“I would argue the opposite,” he said. “In autonomous vehicles, passengers will devote a lot more attention to screens. Your car becomes more like your living room and less like a dangerous environment that you need to navigate.”

If cars do become the new “third space” (not your home, not your office), this shift will also change the way we think about privacy. This might not be a major concern in a private car. But in shared autonomous vehicles, such as self-driving Ubers or buses, the need for personal privacy will only increase.

“Privacy could be controlled by the user pushing a button or by eye tracking,” Treichler explained. “It could also be managed by app developers or enterprise IT systems. For example, if you open a confidential document on your company phone, the system could automatically switch to privacy mode.”

Regulating distraction

As with any emerging technology, regulation will play a key role in shaping the future of in-car displays. Particularly in Europe, regulators are already looking at ways to “design out” potential distractions that could endanger drivers and passengers alike.

“Regulators want to make sure that anything built into the car does not pull the driver’s focus,” Treichler said. “We’re working with auto manufacturers to develop specifications that meet these requirements. For example, should the ‘viewing cone’ for in-car displays be narrower than the standard 45° used in laptops? A narrower cone would reduce the chance of the driver being distracted by the passenger’s screen.”

Rain Technology’s innovations are poised to make driving safer and more enjoyable. By minimizing distractions and enhancing privacy, their screen technologies are addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing modern drivers. And as autonomous vehicles become more prevalent, these technologies will play an even greater role in shaping the future of transportation.

In a world where screens are everywhere, Rain Technology is ensuring that drivers keep their eyes where they belong: on the road.