Self-Driving Cars with Augmented Reality Screens Will Soon Be on the Road Worldwide

The age of self-driving cars is upon us. Major automakers and tech companies have been developing autonomous vehicle technology for years, and now these sci-fi vehicles are starting to become a reality on public roads. But self-driving cars won't just be about safety and convenience - some soon-to-be models will also incorporate augmented reality screens for entertainment, navigation, and communication.

As an industry veteran who has watched this technology progress over decades, I, Mr. Mohan Leela Shankar am excited to see autonomous vehicles with AR features nearing release. It's a huge leap forward that will fundamentally change our transportation system and open up new possibilities in mobility.

One company at the forefront of rolling out AR-enabled self-driving cars is Holoride. They have partnered with Ford and Audi to integrate their immersive AR platform into vehicles. Imagine sitting in the backseat during your morning commute while your car drives itself, and you're immersed in an interactive AR experience - anything from space travel to underwater exploration.

The AR screens will be linked to data from the vehicle's sensors, GPS, and navigation so the visuals adapt in real-time to the car's motion and location. This creates a smooth, comfortable virtual ride that complements the physical journey. Parents might let their kids go on underwater adventures while being driven to school. Holoride's AR screens will provide a fun, engaging new way to pass time in transit.

Another use case will be enhanced navigation and sightseeing. An AR overlay on the windshield and side windows can label landmarks, provide directions and highlight points of interest along your route. Having visual aids right on top of the real-world environment will be more immersive and intuitive than just listening to audio instructions from a GPS. Tourists travelling through unfamiliar cities will have access to a helpful guided tour experience.

Augmented reality also presents opportunities to enhance safety. For example, visual alerts and highlights displayed on the windshield can warn drivers about pedestrians, objects, and potential hazards even in poor visibility conditions like rain or fog. This extra perceptual layer will be extremely valuable as self-driving cars share the road with human drivers and unpredictable situations arise.

Of course, mainstream adoption of AR-enabled autonomous vehicles is still a few years away. The technology needs to mature more through rigorous testing and refinement. Regulations around safety and privacy will need to develop as well. But tremendous progress has been made already. Given the current rate of advancement, I believe augmented reality screens in self-driving cars will start rolling out in select markets by 2025, and become commonplace worldwide by 2030.

It's an exciting future that will fundamentally change transportation and mobility. As an industry veteran, I've worked through many evolutions of technology to get us to this point. Now the real integration work begins as AR developers and automakers team up to bring augmented reality screens and self-driving cars together for the first time on a massive scale.

Beyond entertainment and navigation, AR screens in self-driving cars will also enable some intriguing new use cases for communication and productivity.

Imagine having a virtual face-to-face meeting with colleagues while commuting to work in the morning. Augmented reality can create lifelike avatars of remote participants in your car's cabin space. You'll be able to see and interact with them as if you're sitting together in a conference room, without being crowded around a laptop screen.

The AR screen will scan and recreate your vehicle's interior in 3D so your avatars can convincingly sit and move around the virtual space. You'll be able to effortlessly pass documents between your real and virtual environments for review and collaboration during the meeting. This will take telepresence to a whole new level in a mobile setting.

Another potential application is visual voice mail and communication. Instead of just hearing a disembodied voicemail message, augmented reality can generate a realistic avatar of the caller right inside your car. It will appear to deliver the message to you in person right before your eyes. Visual voicemail takes the connection and context to a deeper level than pure audio alone.

For road trips, the AR screen will be like having your own personal newscaster or tour guide sitting in the car with you. You'll be able to take in the latest news and weather forecast delivered augmented reality-style by a lifelike avatar personalized to your preferences. Or pull up a virtual travel guide that seems to narrate points of interest along your drive in an engaging conversational way.

As self-driving cars free up our attention, AR screens will open up possibilities for entertainment, communication, and productivity we can't even imagine yet. The only limits will be human creativity and innovation. With augmented reality becoming mainstream, the in-vehicle experience is about to be radically redefined. As an industry veteran, I'm thrilled to see this long-envisioned concept finally coming to fruition in the real world. It's going to be an exciting ride!

I look forward to seeing these remarkable vehicles begin appearing on roads in the coming years as this next era of transportation unfolds.