Light bars will communicate with the outside world

One promising new technology posited by Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela electric vehicle is an exterior Media Bar. The digital screen, positioned in a band between the headlights, changes color and beams text messages to the world outside, similar to a digital phone. The light band can display a weather report, or even transmit images. The idea might sound gimmicky, but in the coming age of self-driving cars, such visual cues will be crucial in communicating with other cars and pedestrians. Automakers from Nissan to Mercedes-Benz are working with the idea in concepts as Level 3 automated driving becomes a reality.