Connected Car | The Glass Age Today | Corning

With the swift removal of a snug black cover, Corning leaders unveiled the company’s vision for a cleaner, safer, better connected vehicle – and the crowds at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show loved it.

Corning’s Connected Car prototype, a fully operational electric vehicle, showcased a wide range of applications for Corning technologies. Corning hosted the first public showing of the car Jan. 5 in the first hour of CES® 2017, the world’s largest technology show.

The glistening white carbon fiber concept car dominated Corning’s booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center and drew an enthusiastic response from tech-trend watchers. The car represented Corning’s vision for how tough, lightweight, optically advantaged glass can redefine the driving experience.

Among the stunning features that had booth visitors talking and tweeting: 

• A Corning® Gorilla® Glass windshield laminate with augmented reality capabilities, designed to enhance the driving experience by providing information on traffic and landmarks in the driver’s line of sight.
• Slim Gorilla Glass in the side windows, back windows, and sunroof with user-controlled tints.
• A seamless Gorilla Glass-covered dashboard with capacitive-touch and 4K video capabilities, enabling a seamless integration with mobile devices and close connections with the outside world.
• An elegantly floating Gorilla Glass center console, formed with a cost-effective cold-form process.
• Numerous smart sensors embedded into the glass surfaces, including a Qi inductive charger and temperature sensors.
• Lighting panels on interior doors covered with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass.
• A smooth steering wheel display with a fingerprint-ID ignition pad, letting the driver use turn signals and headlights with a quick tap on the Gorilla Glass cover.
• Corning® Fibrance® Light-Diffusing Fiber indicating electrical charge levels in the headlights and stylish proximity alerts around the rear lights.

While the car’s sleek surfaces and modern lines were the head-turners at CES, Corning staffers were on hand to share the performance advantages Gorilla Glass can bring to the driving experience, too.

As a result of using thin Gorilla Glass laminates, car windows can be up to one-third lighter than those using conventional soda lime laminates, said Doug Harshbarger, division vice president and business director, Corning Automotive Glass. Scaled-down windshield samples helped visitors weigh, compare, and immediately identify the Gorilla Glass laminate.

Weight reduction helps improve energy efficiency, and the lowered center of gravity can enable better handling, braking, and acceleration.

The Gorilla Glass windows are also twice as tough as their conventional counterparts – more easily thwarting perils like flying stones -- with up to three times better optics. That’s especially important for cleaner, clearer head-up display images and reduction of “ghosting” distortions drivers might see through conventional HUD windshields.

The prototype was designed as a way to inspire consumers to envision the limitless advantages of glass and the ways it can reshape everyday experiences like driving.

“Highly advanced glass can enhance both form and function, addressing real challenges the automotive industry is facing while redefining the driving experience,” said Jeff Evenson, Corning senior vice president and chief strategy officer.

“I hope you experience a sense of wonder and awe at the possibilities that could become part of your experience in the very near future – all made possible by Corning.”

Get a closer look at the car with CNET’s “Road Show” segment.