The Italian branches of Samsung and Yamaha have announced their collaboration in developing a new platform to promote road safety. The Smart Windshield concept involves a screen that allows access to information displayed on the rider's smartphone in the least distracting manner.
Using a phone while riding or driving is obviously neither smart, nor legal in most countries of the world. Despite the apparent risks involved in a rider focusing on something other than the road, When introducing the Smart Windshield concept, Samsung and Yamaha point to statistical data from reports by ACI/ISTAT (Automobile Club d' Italia/Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) which reveal that this trend is prevalent in Italy's young population.
The reports indicate that an alarming 25 percent of the country's youth (aged 18 to 24) gets consistently and consciously distracted by their smartphones while riding. A 17 percent national average that refers to the rest of the population isn't exactly a comforting figure either.
The Smart Windshield concept is a transparent screen placed beneath the windshield and above the instruments of a scooter. It connects wirelessly to a smartphone and, with the help of a dedicated application, displays the phone's notifications in a similar fashion to a head-up display system. The information displayed on the Smart Windshield can include calls, messages, email, browser data and possibly a lot more.
Samsung is developing this technology as part of its global Launching People communication project, while Yamaha offered the ideal test vehicle in the shape of the Tricity scooter. The 125 cc tilting three-wheeler has proven to be very popular with young European riders, especially the holders of the A1 introductory license class; exactly the target group that is identified in Italian statistical data as the most susceptible to distractions from smartphones.
Samsung and Yamaha say that this concept is in development phase with no commercialization plans for the time being. Apart from simply displaying notifications, the Smart Windshield concept could also be used to display useful data from applications such as maps or GPS, further enhancing its practical side. Yet the benefits from adding a second screen to the bike's instrument panel may be disputable, as the abundance of information can prove to be an even bigger distraction.
The Smart Windshield concept is outlined in the video below.
Source: Yamaha