NPR

Glass Has Ancient Origins But A High-Tech Future

Where would the smartphone be without glass? Now glass may change the way you interact with data again — in everything from head-up displays on car windshields to augmented-reality glasses.
DigiLens is working on a new kind of head-up display for cars that would turn a driver's windshield into a screen. The idea is to make the images appear as if they're in the real world.

The future of how you interact with computers depends on a technology that's more than 3,000 years old. It's a technology you already use every day, on your smartphone, your TV, in your home, your car and most likely at work. It's even in the wires that bring you Internet service at near-light speed.

It's glass.

Some people believe the impact glass has on our lives is

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
In A Decade Of Drug Overdoses, More Than 320,000 American Children Lost A Parent
New research documents how many children lost a parent to an opioid or other overdose in the period from 2011 to 2021. Bereaved children face elevated risks to their physical and emotional health.
NPR2 min readInternational Relations
Israeli Forces Take Control Of The Gaza Side Of The Rafah Crossing With Egypt
An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife's edge.
NPR9 min readCrime & Violence
Students And Civil Rights Groups Blast Police Response To Campus Protests
Students say they suffered broken bones, concussions and other injuries from allegedly aggressive police action breaking up pro-Palestinian protests last week.

Related Books & Audiobooks