Heads-up displays were hot technology in the 80s, and they’re still popular on premium vehicles today. They let you use a teeny little section of the windshield to display your speed or other pertinent data. But what if you could do that over the whole windshield?
As reported by Automotive News, Hyundai is pursuing just that. Or more specifically, the subsidiary known as Hyundai Mobis, along with Zeiss—the optics company you’ve probably heard of from the camera world.
The goal? Turn an entire windshield into a full-width display. Because, hey. Even the biggest infotainment screen just isn’t big enough.
Upgrade To A Big Screen
If you’ve ever looked at conventional heads-up display technology, it only really works on a small scale. The simplest versions are basically just using a small display mounted on the dash which is reflected to you via the windshield, giving you a few square inches of real estate at best. That concept obviously isn’t practical to create a full-windshield display.
The breakthrough that enables this larger-scale concept to work lies in a special thin film developed by Zeiss, and a projector system developed by Hyundai Mobis. The official press materials don’t explain the exact physics involved, but the special thin transparent film applied to the windshield allows it to act as a holographic display. Powerful projectors located in the dash would then create the image on the display for the driver—with two or three very bright units likely to be used to provide enough light for the system to work in full sun.
The system acts as a transparent display that can overlay imagery over the light coming in from outside. There’s no need to use cameras to capture an outside view for display on the screen—outside light can pass straight through to the cabin. The idea is that this could be used to display driving data and infotainment content. Presumably, it could even deliver entertainment content when safe to do so. The press release notes that video shown on the passenger side of the vehicle isn’t visible to the driver, which is important to avoid distraction.
While the specific science remains a trade secret between Zeiss and Hyundai, the companies are open about the potential way this could change the automotive interior experience. Since the windshield provides so much display space, there’s no need for separate infotainment screen and dash cluster. Instead, everything is just displayed on the windshield instead. The idea is that this would have safety benefits, allowing the driver to keep their eyes on the road at all times.
You won’t see this technology in cars for a little bit, but apparently it’s not far away. Mass production could begin as early as 2027, according to a Hyundai Mobis executive that spoke to Automotive News.
The one thing that concerns us about this technology? There are precious few buttons seen in the demo image from the press release. Touching the windshield is impractical, so you’ll probably be stuck relying on voice controls. Wouldn’t that be a new unique kind of hell?
Images: Hyundai, Hyundai Mobis
One thing that I truly despise in new car designs are the gauge cluster tablets. Some are slightly better (Lucid) than others (Benz, like WTF is that shit) but they still look like crap to me. This is not helped when 75% of monitor real estate is taken by a giant image of the freaking car instead of things a gauge cluster would be useful for. Wha!?
This is actually a considerable factor holding me back from getting a new car. I was all set on CT5 until they “upped” the dash. Ugh. Let’s not even talk about the abomination that is the new Mustang in that department (yes, IMHO).
But I could, I think, get behind something like that, only because it does not pretend to fit into “old” car design. Obviously many questions and issues with this approach but this is not a bad direction for me.
It is highly unlikely to be on any car of mine – I can’t stand this distracting bullshit.
I object your honor! I object that the pedestrian interrupted me while I was watching Ow My Balls!
Not cool!
I hate light coloured dashboards and will not have anything reflective on mine, this looks like a nightmare to me
I can’t wait until it’s 2038 and I’m driving down the highway forced to watch a 30 second unskippable ad projected onto my windshield
The Geico Gecko blocking your view while asking for 15 minutes
lol, it’ll all be self driving, but yeah, you’ll have to watch a 30 second ad before the car will even leave the parking spot.
No
Black Mirror may have already answered the question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qN338kyPVw
I bet the display will be really clear at night. The road and where you’re going, not so much. At least you’ll always know what’s on special at the Arby’s you drive by every day on the way to work.
Oooo.. Beef and Cheddar for only $48*!!!
*adjusted for expected inflation in 2038
That price increase will also have to help cover the cost of replacing the drive thru speakers all the distracted people will keep running over, not to mention the increased food cost from all the people crashing into fields and hitting cows.
Sadly, Arby’s did not survive the Franchise Wars. All restaurants are Taco Bell.
Except for the few Taco Bells that will still have a KFC in them. Also I will see on the internet the other day that someone will think they saw Elon Musk out in public for the first time in several years at America’s last Taco Bell/Pizza Hut up in Alaska.
that’s good and bad.
good because women won’t be offended when I refer to their womanly bits as a roast beef sandwich from Arby’s.
bad because no one will understand the reference.
When they say holographic they are probably doing something like waveguide optics like the displays being used in a lot of the see-through AR glasses.
For a very technical overview you can look at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-75766-7
For a quick overview look near the bottom of the tech specs for the Vuzix Shield see-through displays. https://vuzix-website.s3.amazonaws.com/files/Content/product-sheets/Vuzix-Shield-Spec-Sheet+(1).pdf
A micro display generates an image that is injected into the input grating. This is a very carefully designed diffraction grating that twists the image so that it’s moving inside the glass using Total Internal Reflection. This is the same principal the keeps light inside a fiber optic cable. https://www.thefoa.org/tech/ref/basic/total_internal_reflection.html In the display this isn’t just a single source, it’s all the pixels.
At the output grating the reverse happens, the TIRing light hits another diffraction grating and now reflects out from glass toward the eye.
Another example you might have seen are write on LED signboards like this one. https://www.amazon.com/CAPOT-Acrylic-Letter-Message-Office/dp/B09PBLQW96
Less along the bottom inject light into the glass (plastic probably). The markers draw on the glass, that ink changes the Index of Refraction at the point and the light exits the glass. In the sign board case the markers absorb some wavelengths which is how they get their color.
In the AR display case the input image is injected in color and the colors exit the glass as the display.
There are a couple of issues that make it difficult to make these kinds of display large and bright.
One, the display projectors need to be very bright. The output grating is larger than the input so the image is spread over larger area. The display needs to overpower sun light so it can be seen. The efficiency is good but not great so you lose light.
This is a real problem with head mounted display systems because bright requires power which then requires a larger battery and cooling. Heat and power are much more available in a car, but I bet it’s still a concern.
Two, different frequencies of light TIR at slightly different angles. The output grating is too far or too big the colors start to separate and you can get color fringing around the edges.
Three, the quality and size of the image depends on the index of refraction of the material and you need to start going to exotic materials to get really high index of refraction. This increases cost and usually difficulty working with the material.
The diffraction gratings are basically very small, very precise etchings in the glass. You have to be able to manufacture these nano structures precisely and repeatedly and the choice of material effects that too.
Four, viewing angle depends on all those things above. For a windshield display the angle would be limited so this is fine.
Five, alignment of multiple projectors is hard. In the head mounted systems we tried to separate the colors into their own projectors. In this case it’s more like multiple projectors along the bottom of the display. They can probably treat each input as its own monitor. The edges are near each other but there’s probably a small gap, like multiple monitors next to each other, there’s a bezel
This kind of thing gets called a holographic display because (the way the optical engineers explained it to me) the input and output gratings are a hologram of a lens. In this instance the hologram acts as a very small and precise lens
Ugh, I got reflection and refraction backwards in a couple of places and it’s too late to edit.
Oh hell no. In addition to the obvious issues, such as driver distraction, inevitable advertising and so forth? The car has been a reliable safe space from content bombardment. Turn off the radio, play your music or podcast, or not. Roll down your window and just listen to the environment. Watch the road and scenery. Nothing demanding your attention beyond that. This is a tool destined for evil.
As if we need more distractions while driving. The second application after car function will be advertising. Oh yay!
“Head Up Display” not heads-up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display
#petpeeve
#sorry
I’m with you in theory—but have had to accept that ‘usage is language’ over this last decade. Even the WP article includes ‘heads -up’
The first 6 words of that article are “A head-up display, or heads-up display…”
The Thing with Two Heads has a bone to pick with you.
This just reminds me of when Ricky Bobby sold the sponsorship on his windshield.
This head-up display is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love in-car advertising!
Ad companies are absolutely salivating right now
Yay, more ads!
Placing images across shrinking windshield heights on modern cars. What a great combo. Imagine the last generation Camaro’s forward sightline with this feature. Massively obscured external visual awareness and more cheap plastic dashboard. Would be even better on a ‘Carolina squatted’ truck.
At least when you crash into something, there will be helpful ads for towing companies, body shops, injury attorneys, and car rental agencies.
There will eventually be ads for all things at all times in all places.
Sadly I see this as inevitable.
Can’t wait for this era of cars totaled due to windshield cracks.
Exactly my first thought. How much would a windshield with this crap affixed to it cost to replace due a rock chip or crack? It’s bad enough with all the cameras and sensors that are mounted in modern cars behind the glass. This would most likely be far worse.
No thanks, Hyundai/Zeiss.
Can’t wait to be cruising while watching tiktok and playing subway surfers on my windshield then trying to figure out which pop-up ad has audio on autoplay.
This is screens in cars taken to its logical conclusion. We were always going to end up here.
Will the non-subscription version have pop up ads while you’re at red lights?
Non-subscription versions will black out the windshield.