Research Frontier
Joe Harary, the President and CEO of Research Frontiers Inc, will not tell me which of the new cars using the SmartGlass his company produces will be on display at the 2019 LA Auto Show. Part of the reason for his secrecy is because he’s very heavily under contract not to disclose the plans that either automotive manufacturers or their Tier 1 suppliers have to integrate his product into new vehicles. Part of it is because he doesn’t really know.
“We don’t know until the manufacturer does it,” says Harary.
That’s no to say that he doesn’t know in which vehicles his electronically darkening glass will eventually be used–-it’s more that they don’t share their press announcement plans with him.
“It’s up to the manufacturers to disclose the details.” explains Harary in a phone interview with Forbes. “For example, there are electric vehicles that have our technology in the roof, but haven’t announced our technology, so we have to wait.”
As of today, the electronically darkening SmartGlass is in five Mercedes-Benz models and four Maclaren hypercars. The most affordable vehicle in which you’ll find this adjustable light-blocking glass is in the out-going SLC roadster, which turns its hardcover vario-roof from clear to 99.9% opaque with the push of a button. It’s also found in the panoramic roofs of the SL-Class, S-Class, and Mercedes-Maybach. Maclaren is the first manufacturer adding SmartGlass to side windows.
Within the next three years, this cutting-edge glass will be making its way into more mainstream cars. With advancements and higher production volumes, manufacturing costs are coming down, which means that this technology will be more accessible to average consumer in more affordable, high-production models. But there’s another force speeding its adoption–it extends the driving range of electric vehicles.
SmartGlass blocks approximately 50% of infared rays, which are responsible for delivering half the heat load of sunlight. It works by electrically aligning tiny particles in a thin film within glass or plastic, and uses an electrical charge to tune the tint from clear to opaque. In its maximum darkened state, it can keep out 95% of heat and lead to a temperature reduction of up to 18 degrees in a vehicle’s cabin.
Cooler interiors require less energy for air conditioning, which means electric vehicles equipped with this glass can increase their driving range by 5.5% on average. As a bonus, it also increases glass density and acts as a sound insulating barrier to block road noise–a common complaint from drivers of EVs. Harary says that it reduces noise transmission by 10 decibels in airplanes, and could be even more on larger panes of glass found in cars.
A widening field of electric vehicles means that SmartGlass will be used in more mainstream cars, but it’s not clear which ones or how much they will cost.
“Manufacturers don’t tell us or licensees what they are going to say or do until they do it,” he explains. “I know which ones are in development, but don’t know which ones are going to be at the show.”
The most he can say is that there are cars coming out in 2020, 2021, and 2022, but won’t segregate into which vehicles are mainstream or premium. That said, he reports the company is working with virtually every car company in the world, and adds that it can be found in some vehicles that you can order now, but aren’t being delivered to customers until next year.
And yet, Haray insists he isn’t being coy.
The company recently reported that film sales through the third quarter of this year have exceeded all of last year, which indicates that automotive use is increasing. For example, the technology could be useful in SUVs that have rear-seat entertainment systems to make it easier for people to watch videos.
I emailed Mercedes-Benz asking if it’s being used in any newly revealed vehicles–specifically the recently revealed EQC–but haven’t yet heard back from the manufacturer.
And without a manufacturer expressly mentioning his company’s name or the technology being used, Frontier Research isn’t at liberty to discuss SmartGlass application in any product.
So if you are at an auto show and see a car–especially an EV or SUV (or both)–that has either panoramic roofs or side windows that can adjust its tint, it’s a safe guess that it’s using Research Fronteir’s SmartGlass.
