Head-Up Displays: The Present and Future of Commuting

 For the longest time throughout automotive history analogue and digital gauges have been what drivers have relied on information about the car. A separate screen in the middle consul has been used for navigation in the last 20 decades but the future sees them as one big invisible screen.

The technology behind this is nothing new as HUDs or head-up displays have been around since the late 80s but they have become more common on more affordable vehicles nowadays. Head-up displays portray data that you usually see on the dashboard, and onto the windscreen so that you don't have to take your eyes off the road to see how fast you're going or how much fuel you have left.

Types of Head-Up Displays

source: ultimate9.co

Windscreen

The most common HUDs nowadays seem to be windscreen-projected. These make a virtual image that appears to float in the air right in front of the windscreen, hence the name. A windscreen-projected head up unit is one of the easiest to use as the information is clear even in broad daylight.

Combiner

A combiner-projected car HUD display makes use of a transparent screen to reflect the data needed by the driver. The screen is known as a combiner screen, hence the name. A combiner-projected display is rarely seen as OEM equipment and most of them are aftermarket units that you can retrofit older vehicles with.

AR

A more advanced setup than that of both windscreen and combiner-projected head-up displays is an AR automotive HUD. An augmented reality display is able to show information on the windscreen but not in 2D. There's also more information on show such as arrows to point you in the direction you need to go as well as lane assist, speed limits and so on.

Dual-Plane

The latest in HUD technology is dual-plane tech which are two screens that are combined together to show information in a wider field of view. With aforementioned HUDs, information is almost crammed in one small space but with dual-plane HUDs, you get certain information shown on one area and other less important info on the other “screen”.

Smartphone-Projected

The easiest to install head up unit is a smartphone-projected HUD which uses your phone's screen to project info about your vehicle. The info you get here is only the speed at which you're moving and navigation information since that's what your phone can provide.

Benefits of Using a Head-Up Display

Safe

One of the main reasons why head-up displays are becoming more popular as the years go by is because cars equipped with such technology are much safer. Since you don't have to look anywhere except where you're already looking to see the speed you're going or where you're going you can pay more attention to the road more easily.

Convenient

HUDs have become quite convenient over the years as now they show more information than ever which means you don't have to look down even to see how much range you've got left or what's the next song on your playlist. You look down a lot less than you do with a car that doesn't have an HUD. 

Navigation

What HUD makes even better is the fact that you can navigate especially busy areas much easier as advanced systems show large arrows pointing in the direction you need to go. 

Customisation

You can set up your car HUD display how you want in terms of what type of information you want to have displayed and which information is going to be more pronounced. Some even allow you to change the colour in which certain information is displayed. The latter are found on more premium vehicles.

Appeal

A cabin with an HUD is a lot more appealing than one without it as it makes it look more futuristic. This is especially the case with HUDs that are well hidden in the dashboard and those that have a high resolution.

Common Features

Gauges

One of the most common features of an HUD is the number of gauges that can be shown at once. Although this depends on the size of the display but usually you'll find the speedometer, fuel gauge and speed limit together. Some will show turn-by-turn navigation and temperature. The way they appear is totally up to your personal preference and how the system lets you customise the gauges.

Warnings

What you can't customise is where certain warnings show up. They usually do in the middle of the screen be it safety alerts, collision warnings and lane departure warnings. These show up on the HUD but some while more critical warnings and dashboard lights show up where they always have, on the instrument cluster.

Media

The most advanced automotive HUD displays show media info such as the current rack, the following track, incoming calls and messages, and if you're listening to the radio, the station that is currently on.