A head-up display, or HUD, isn’t new technology by any means. They’ve been in planes for pilots and cars for commuters since the 1980s and even before. They’re usually a great way to transpose critical information from the dash and put it directly into the line of sight of the driver/operator without disrupting their view of the way ahead.
Hyundai Mobis
The result of bringing this technology into automobiles has been something of a mixed bag. No performance car needs a G-meter projected into the driver’s field of view, but having useful information like navigation directions directly in the line of sight is a game-changer. Hyundai is looking to take that technology and make it new once more.
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Hyundai has a unique twist on the head-up display
The company’s Hyundai Mobis arm, which handles parts production for Hyundai Motor, introduced what it calls a “Holographic Windshield Display (HWD).” This new method of displaying information on the windshield differs from traditional automotive HUDs because it does not use a reflector. Instead, the information is directly projected onto the glass with brighter, more colorful images—something traditional HUDs have struggled with.
Hyundai aims to accomplish this with projectors hidden in the dash, just like traditional units. However, instead of a reflector, the HWD uses a special film embedded in the windscreen. The viewing angles are shallow, though, so drivers and passengers won’t be able to see each other’s displays.
Hyundai
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What will Hyundai’s new head-up display be able to do?
Hyundai demonstrated the tech on the new Kia EV9, and unlike a traditional HUD, the display was split into three zones that spanned the entire width of the car. The driver gets access to two of those “displays,” with the latter reserved for the passenger.
In recent years, driver displays have integrated many functions typically found in a heads-up display (HUD), like speed readouts, navigation directions, and additional vehicle-specific information that drivers may need while on the road.
Hyundai
However, HUDs offer an interesting riff on the augmented reality tech that some automakers have incorporated into their navigation systems. Rather than display the map on the center console screen, some project a holographic 3D map on the windshield that blends with the view of the road ahead, offering a more in-depth and distraction-free navigation system.
Predictably, Hyundai’s passenger screen is geared more toward entertainment. The display can be used to watch videos, play games, or play backseat driver with access to various vehicle information.
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Kia
Final thoughts
Hyundai’s unique twist on the head-up display might end up moving the goalposts for augmented reality car technology, but they’re not the only ones throwing information up into the driver’s line of sight.
We saw BMW’s Panoramic iDrive at CES, too, and it puts a similar run of vehicle parameters on the windshield, admittedly without a lot of the tech that makes Hyundai’s approach so unique. BMW’s system still makes use of a more traditional head-up display that will run in tandem with its windshield display.
The inclusion of the embedded film in the windscreen suggests that it may impact windshield repair costs, but the extent of this impact is still unknown.
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