Blinding idea will spell end for visors

Now here’s a bright idea – Volkswagen is working on a hi-tech replacement for the humble sun visor. The firm’s boffins have come up with a way to use electronics to create anti-glare glass in the driver’s sight line.

The technology employs two sensors: one that checks the eye position of the driver, while a second monitors the intensity of the sun.

It then calculates exactly where the light that’s seen by the driver hits the car’s window, and prompts the glass to darken using the same method that’s currently found in light reactive sunglasses. A spokesman for the firm said: “The really clever part is that if you’re going round a corner, the darkened spot will travel along the windscreen and cover the sun from the viewing angle of the driver.”

VW is currently looking at pushing the invention further so it would be used on every window in a car. It could also minimise glare from oncoming vehicles at night or reflections on wet roads. As the system takes up no more space than the car’s glass area, VW believes the room freed up by the lack of sun visors could be used for something else, such as extra storage.