Head up displays find growing use in automotive industry
1 min read
While previously reserved for the military, new research shows that head up displays (HUDs) are increasingly being adopted by automakers in family cars.
As such, the market is expected to increase by more than a factor of seven from 2012 to 2020, with worldwide sales reaching 9.1million units, up from just 1.2m.
"Projecting an image that floats about 2.5m in front of motorists' eyes, HUDs are the optimal display technology for cars - with studies having shown that this distance delivers the fastest response time for viewers," said Ben Scott, technology solutions analyst for IHS Automotive.
"Apart from showing speed and warning signals, HUDs are perfectly suited for displaying navigation information or advanced driver assistance system data, allowing drivers to access critical material while keeping their eyes on the road."
In the future, IHS says HUDs may become large enough to fill the whole windscreen and present an augmented reality view to drivers.
A typical HUD system consists of a high resolution thin film transistor lcd display, with light and colour provided by high intensity leds. The leds are located underneath the screen and project the image upward onto a series of mirrors, which give the impression that the image is floating in front of the driver.
A series of high power processors take information from the vehicle's architecture and convert it into a graphical format to display on the screen.
