This week at CES, Panasonic announced a new augmented reality heads-up display (HUD) system for cars, which claims to offer many more features than currently available in typical car HUD systems.
Heads-up displays have been available in cars for a number of years now, however in their current form, they tend to be pretty limited in scope. In most situations, they simply offer basic navigation and vehicle information overlaid on a small static display that is projected from the dashboard onto the windscreen, visible only to the driver.
However, Panasonic’s new AR HUD system aims to offer much more, including a larger display and situational awareness of the area in front of and around the car.
According to Panasonic, the new HUD system “projects 3D, AI-driven key information into the driver’s line of sight to help reduce driver distraction and potentially increase safety on the road.” It promises an “expanded field of view” and a system that uses AI to dynamically rearrange the graphics to adjust with the vehicle’s movements.
Panasonic provided the image embedded above as an illustration, however this may not be fully representative of the look of the final product.
Panasonic claim that sudden changes to the environment, such as a potential collision or a cyclist on the road, can be detected and marked by the system, with environmental information updating in less than 300 milliseconds. It uses a 3D imaging radar to achieve this, with “full 180-degree forward vision up to 90 meters and across approximately three traffic lanes,” alongside eye tracking that will correct for any inconsistencies between the projected HUD image and the driver’s line of sight.
“Panasonic’s AR HUD solutions cover more of the roadway, with traditional cluster content like speed and fuel in the near field as well as 3D overlays in the far field, showing navigation and other critical driver data mapping spatially to the road ahead,” says President of Panasonic Automotive and Executive Director of Panasonic Smart Mobility Scott Kirchner. “And in a future with more self-driving vehicles, our AR HUD could provide an important added level of comfort and assurance for AV passengers as well.”
Would you be interesting in trying out this AR HUD in your car? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
