“Dad, are we there yet?” shouted the kids from the back seat for the 50th time. “In a minute, now sit down and put your belts back on and be quiet” said Dad for the 50th time, dreading the 2 more hours there is still to drive! Does this sound familiar?

A solution may be available in the future: the WOO project carried out by General Motors in collaboration with students at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Israel. WOO stands for ‘Windows Of Opportunity’ and aims to transform car windows into interactive displays. The aim is to entertain back seat passengers and turn boredom to a pleasant and interesting experience.

Glass was transformed into an interactive surface using optical sensor technology. A full scale prototype rear passenger seat and side windows was constructed for this work. It is a concept at the moment, but it shows that technology exists to produce such car windows in the future.

Four applications were investigated and tested:

‘POND’ Multimedia and Messaging Network

This provides interactivity not only within the vehicle, but it means interactivity with other vehicles, so that for instance music and messages can be shared. Travellers in vehicles without ‘WOO’ can read texts as such texts can be spun outwards.

‘FOOFU’ finger painting and providing a colourful backdrop is a high-tech take on drawing in window fog.

‘SPINDOW’ provides destinations and landscapes in your windows from all over the world. The selection is made on a spinnable globe. It gives a real-time look at the window view of other users from around the globe.

‘OTTO’ is a clever companion during your journeys. He can respond to the landscape, the weather and even the performance of the car. As the car speeds up, he moves faster for example. He can provide lighting and can be controlled with gestures.

“Dad, are we there yet” will be a thing of the past.