ANN ARBOR—Will glare be a problem for your car’s in-dash Web browser? Will an array of gyroscopes smaller than grains of salt soon be helping keep your car on the straight and narrow? It’s not really a matter of “if” anymore, but rather “when.”

University and industry researchers will be gathering for two days next week to talk about the technical and commercial hurdles to overcome in putting all sorts of microelectronic devices and displays into the wired vehicle of tomorrow.

Find out how DaimlerChrysler is coping with display problems in a vehicle or how Delphi/Delco is building sub-microscopic moving parts with silicon chip technology. Speakers will include representatives of Delphi/Delco, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, Lear Corporation, Philips, Visteon, Dow Chemical, the Air Force Research Lab, U-M, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and several other universities.

The symposium will be held Wednesday and Thursday (Sept. 22-23) at the Ypsilanti Marriott on Huron Street at I-94. Sessions begin at 8 a.m. both days.

Topics in the two-day event include an update on flat panel display markets and other economic factors; the application of aerospace display technology to vehicles; the future of automotive applications for flat panel displays; microelectronic and micromachine applications in vehicles.

These sessions will provide useful background for automotive writers who are trying to track the technological growth of the American automobile and figure out who the players will be, and might also provide the seeds of an entertaining story about the George Jetson car of tomorrow.

The Sixth Annual Strategic and Technical Symposium of the Society for Information Display, Metro Detroit Chapter, is cosponsored by the University of Michigan’s Center for Integrated Microsystems. For further details and the latest list of speakers and papers, contact the U-M Center for Integrated Microsystems at (734) 936-0982.