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It may not be artificial intelligence on the scale of autonomous androids or self-correcting computer systems, but Heads Up Displays (known more popularly as ‘HUDs’) are putting advanced technology right up at the helm with the drivers in new vehicle designs.  When first being developed back in the 1990s, General Motors experimented with several HUD-based upgrades designed to make the driving experience more intuitive as well as aesthetically pleasing.  The incorporation of a projection speedometer on Buick models was the first of many steps taken toward developing more inclusive HUD systems, and more recent research and development has focused on bringing technologies such as night vision onboard for drivers to use as needed.

Utilizing tiny ultraviolet lasers for instantaneous data projection, small cameras can project information onto the windshield glass for a dual display of essential vehicular data as well as the actual roadway appearing ahead.  Many of the readouts and add-ons generated by HUDs are designed specifically to improve driving safety and inform drivers of potential issues to give them a heads-up over more conventional inspections.  Digital indicator displays, for example, can be built with the intended purpose of providing the driver with information about potentially malfunctioning car parts, in order to get problems taken care of before they turn into potential roadway disasters.  Notifications about busted brake lines, inoperable engines, and more can be displayed instantaneously to the driver, and a maintenance request can then easily be initiated.

In order for the technology to work properly, R&D teams are devising ways to utilize transparent phosphors that give off light when encountering a laser beam.  Upon contact, the entire windshield, for all practical purposes, can double as a monitor.  If you’re having difficulty picturing such a device in action, just take a look at how a visualization of an intended projection system would appear as it is referenced in the film ‘Mission: Impossible III.’

As more dials, gauges, and other readout displays are considered critical to safe-driving success, the bombardment of information to a driver can become a danger in and of itself.  Plus, from a design standpoint, adding too many more physical gauges and such into a vehicle where the driver can easily read and assess the information provided isn’t practical.  What an HUD can do is provide a driver with critical information for only what needs to be addressed at the time, while sidelining other readouts until a computer processer determines that readout needs immediate or future attention by the driver.

Night vision is perhaps one of the most exciting developments, and companies such as BMW have incorporated early versions of this technology into their vehicles.  The BMW 7-Series, for instance, is already night vision-capable, though utilizing new technology is no groundbreaking achievement for that model line (the 7-Series was also the first major automobile model to include HID headlights).  Future developments may allow for the use of lasers, which could outline critical edges of the road at night or during poor weather and give the driver direct visual notification of where the road curves and straightens.  Along with the digital readout projections, these night vision and laser projectors, are the future of HUD development.  Light Blue Optics, based in Cambridge, UK, has already developed a holographic projection system that is compact enough to fit inside a conventional rearview mirror.  As sizes for these technologies remain the largest impediments to their inclusion within vehicles, reduction in size should provide room for more of these unique advancements to be included along with other car parts in future updates to make and model lines.

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