Photo: General Motors
We always felt the big screens that power our cars could do a lot more or at least be more customizable. General Motors comes to the rescue with an idea that is as cool as it sounds: downloadable digital graphics for in-vehicle displays. For now, GM has only coined the term “Dashpaper” for the feature but we hope they will put it to good use soon.
A new trademark filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shows General Motors has big plans for its cars. The patent is for the DASHPAPER name, and it covers “downloadable digital graphics for in-vehicle displays.” No other information is offered, so we can only speculate what this is about.
The term itself sounds a lot like the e-paper technology used in e-book readers like Kindle, so it must be a different thing altogether. E-paper screens have the advantage of not needing power to display graphics and also being readable in sunlight. On the other hand, the graphics quality leaves a lot to be desired, so we wouldn’t hold our breaths for this coming to a car.
The meaning of the term aside, it’s what it stands for in the patent filing that makes it interesting. This is pretty much self-explanatory and is a feature we are amazed no one ever thought of before. Downloadable graphics would allow drivers to better express their personality and also to make the information on the screen custom-tailored to everyone’s taste and needs.
GM vehicles already offer useful features through their GM Marketplace app suite, but being able to download new graphics would take this to a whole new level. We are talking new icons, new themes, and new gauges design every time the old ones fall out of grace with the driver.
The concept would prove more useful as more cars will come to the market with digital gauge clusters and huge infotainment screens. With all this screen real-estate waiting to be harnessed and turned into a creativity board we believe Dashpaper would be the coolest feature to ever come to our cars.
The term itself sounds a lot like the e-paper technology used in e-book readers like Kindle, so it must be a different thing altogether. E-paper screens have the advantage of not needing power to display graphics and also being readable in sunlight. On the other hand, the graphics quality leaves a lot to be desired, so we wouldn’t hold our breaths for this coming to a car.
The meaning of the term aside, it’s what it stands for in the patent filing that makes it interesting. This is pretty much self-explanatory and is a feature we are amazed no one ever thought of before. Downloadable graphics would allow drivers to better express their personality and also to make the information on the screen custom-tailored to everyone’s taste and needs.
GM vehicles already offer useful features through their GM Marketplace app suite, but being able to download new graphics would take this to a whole new level. We are talking new icons, new themes, and new gauges design every time the old ones fall out of grace with the driver.
The concept would prove more useful as more cars will come to the market with digital gauge clusters and huge infotainment screens. With all this screen real-estate waiting to be harnessed and turned into a creativity board we believe Dashpaper would be the coolest feature to ever come to our cars.
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