In a world where everything becomes automated and every element becomes, thanks to design and minimalism, as smooth as a pebble, we can still be surprised by the presence of elements like the sun visor.

Yes, that good old sun visor that you open and close with your hand. No manufacturer has yet had the crazy idea to develop an automatic sunblind system on a production model (for obvious approval reasons of course…), but with the advent of new technology around the sunblind, there has been a disruption, this item may disappear.

How to replace sun visors?

For that, before looking ahead, let’s look above. Long reserved for luxury cars, the opaque glass roof has established itself as an increasingly affordable feature.

This trend, started by brands such as Ferrari and Porsche, has become popular, for example, in the Volkswagen ID.7 or the new Renault Scénic.

But how does it work? The roof consists of thousands of liquid crystals and is contained in a film. They are powered by electricity using electrical contacts. The principle is generally quite simple: when the alternating voltage is low, the crystals organize themselves in a few milliseconds so that the window becomes transparent.

Conversely, when the alternating voltage is high, that is, when there is electrical power, the liquid crystals are no longer organized and the glass becomes opaque. And managing it all couldn’t be easier, with the feature being controlled at the fingertips via the car’s screen or a dedicated physical button.

Is the technology too expensive?

This technological advance raises a new question: Can fogging spread to the windshield? Subcontractors are currently exploring this possibility an impenetrable windshield that can reduce the glare of the sun. This innovation, while potentially expensive at first, can greatly improve driver comfort. Some experts even suggest the possibility of completely abandoning traditional sun canopies in favor of opaque windshields.

If such technology appears on our production cars, such as an opaque glass roof, it will first be done on high-end models. On the other hand, this system also needs more time to become democratized, in particular, due to the repairability of the windshield. More susceptible to impacts, the windshield needs to be replaced or repaired much more often than the glass roof. With this opaque technology, repair costs can explode. Not to mention glass breakage insurance packages, which are also set to increase.

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