Automakers are reportedly showing an interest in French material science firm Woodoo's latest tech: Molecularly-modified transparent wood.

 

Woodoo extracts air and lignin from low-grade wood like beech, pine, and poplar, and then reinforces it with a bio-based polymer that boosts performance. The modified wood is weatherproof, lighter in weight, more resistant to fire, three to five times stronger, and transparent.

 

The company, headed by French architect Timothée Boitouzet, says its working with a few companies to integrate its modified wood into aircraft and vehicle displays as "tactile dashboards."

 

Panels are lighter in weight, and would allow for less pollution than the amount emitted by vehicles with traditional panels. Its transparency also offers a wide range of possibilities says the company, as light does not bend when it passes through.