COVER STORY | H EAD-UP DISPLAY
very significant undertaking,” says
Dr Christmas. “Then, throw into the
mix the fact that each windshield is at
a different angle and has a different
curvature, the available space
beneath the dashboard is different.
So, you’ve got all of these compound
challenges, and you have to meet
all the different regulations and
specifications for each one.”
For each individual vehicle model,
the automaker provides Envisics with
CAD data from the vehicle for them
to work out where the platform can
be installed, how it will be packaged
and the angle at which it needs to be
projected onto the windscreen (in
some cases they’re working to vehicle
designs that aren’t even finished yet).
Then Envisics, which is the technology
provider – not a manufacturer of HUDs
– works closely with Tier 1 automotive
suppliers to deliver each version of the
HUD to market. Dr Christmas says that
as long as the rake of the windscreen
isn’t 90° to the dashboard, and there’s
enough space for the HUD inside the
dashboard, it can be configured to
project effectively.
He adds: “The Tier 1 has to qualify
the product, but we have to qualify the
technology that goes into the product.”
Similarly, the interface between the
HUD and individual OEM’s in-vehicle
software is dealt with by the Tier 1s.
VISUAL AMPLIFICATION
Fundamentally, a HUD is a safety
feature that is designed to enhance
the driver’s situational awareness. As
well as putting driving information,
like the speedometer, on the
windscreen saving the driver’s eyes
from travelling too far from the road,
Envisics’ dynamic holography means
that the information can be displayed
as though it is 2.5 metres in front of the
windscreen.
This effect is hard to visualise on
the page or even in a video, however
experiencing it really is immersive.
The driving information does look like
it’s floating ahead of the car, saving
your eyes those vital split-seconds
to refocus where you’re effectively
driving blind. Plus, it still allows you to
use your peripheral vision around the
display rather than driving on memory
while looking down to the in-car
instrument cluster.
The other thing that being able
to project images on multiple planes
allows Envisics’ HUD to do is act as
an early warning system when it is
interfaced with the vehicle’s ADAS
system. It can pick out
vehicles pulling out of side
streets or pedestrians
stepping off the
pavement and draw
the driver’s eye to it by
placing a red diamond
over the possible
hazard.
“This is a very crude,
but absolutely real example
of how we can orchestrate
the driver’s gaze
to ensure they’ve
picked up on
things that are
going on around
them,” says Dr
Christmas. It can
also show route
information, direct
you to points of interest and even allow
the OEMs to brand their vehicles in
their own way as exterior car designs
become more homogenised.
Currently the HUD is being tested
on the roads of Detroit. The first
vehicles to have the HUD platform built
in are expected to be released in 2022.
THE NEXT GENERATION
Envisics is currently working on
Generation 3 of the platform which
Dr Christmas says will be “utterly
transformational”.
“We are improving design, power
efficiency, brightness and there
are many other things that we can
work on,” he explains. “The Gen
3 technology will be as capable,
but it will be flat like a book. What
we’re doing is unlocking more of
the holographic potential and using
holograms themselves to correct
for the distortions in the windshield.
That means the mirrors, that take up
the most space in the package, will
disappear. It will be a completely
different design and approach which
can fit many more vehicles.”
He is not at liberty to say what kind
of vehicles, in what markets, or how
the holograms will pre-compensate
for distortions in the windscreen
because the R&D is ongoing, and IP
is constantly being generated. There
is a working prototype and he says it
has demonstrated that the principles
are sound. If things go well, the Gen 3
platform will be on the market by 2025.
The roadmap currently includes a
Gen 4 platform that could be used not
just in vehicles but in illumination and
entertainment. The ultimate example of
holograms in entertainment is the Star
Wars projections of Princess Leia or
maps that float in thin air. Unfortunately,
this is probably never going to happen,
because a reflective surface is needed
to bounce the light towards the viewer.
However, there is a workaround.
“The truth is it’s a compute
problem, the device science is almost
there,” Dr Christmas explains. “It
requires a further evolution from
Gen 3. If you think 150,000 million
calculations per second is a lot, it’s
probably 100 times that compute to
have full-motion 3D movies.
“Could you have it on the wall, and
see Princess Leia standing in front
of you? Absolutely. And we’re not a
million miles (far, far) away from it.” !
16 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2019
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