The Hindu Business Line : A safer drive with HUD vision

What Head-up Display does is project and display critical engine and vehicle data on the windscreen of the car. The projected image is focused along the line of sight of the driver, thereby giving him the impression that the image is floating just above the bonnet line.

Driving on crowded Indian roads and highways, taking your eyes off the road even for a second can be dangerously difficult. Most of us would be grateful for a way to view the car's operating information without taking our eyes off the road for too long.

Further, with increasing driving speeds and decreasing response time that drivers have, the need for easy access to, and better display of, critical information related to the vehicle is coming into sharper focus.

Projecting critical data

A Head-up Display (HUD) is the answer and it is becoming popular among many global manufacturers. Though it is yet to be featured in any car being manufactured in India, the day may not be far when this highly appreciated technological aid will be made available to consumers here too.

Like many other driver-friendly technologies, the HUD has its roots in Formula One racing, as far as its automotive applications go. Of course, the first application of this technology was in aviation, particularly in defence, where fighter aircraft pilots need high-speed access to key operating parameters for response during manoeuvres at supersonic speed.

The HUD would display critical engine and vehicle data on the windscreen of the car. The projected image is focused along the line of sight of the driver, thereby giving him the impression that the image is floating just above the bonnet line.

However, there have been limitations to the technology, including distortions, poor image quality and the inability to change the position and settings of the projected image.

GM was the first automaker to make HUD commercially available on vehicles and DuPont is the industry leader in this technology, with a major market share globally.

Last year, DuPont Automotive developed a new HUD technology in collaboration with Asahi Glass and Nippon Seiki. This new HUD feature is available as an option on several GM vehicles in the US, including the Pontiac Grand Prix, the Cadillac STS and the Chevrolet Corvette. It comes standard on the Cadillac XLR and the new 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 launched in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The distortion-free, head-up display communicates driver-selected information, such as navigation, performance features as well as vehicle speed to the driver.

The latest HUD incorporates a new `Track Mode' setting that presents real-time information on lateral acceleration better known as G-force. In `Street Mode', driver-selectable settings include vehicle and engine speed, direction, turn signals, gear position, audio settings and even turn-by-turn directions on vehicles equipped with a navigation system.

Tech matters

At the centre of this new HUD technology is a precisely engineered "interlayer" of DuPont-patented Butacite polymer that acts as the screen on which the HUD information is projected. This interlayer is called the DuPont Wedge because of its angular cross-section.

Laminated between two layers of glass, the Wedge is transparent to allow distortion-free forward vision, but is also able to reflect the HUD projection. The virtual image appears to float on the driver's line of sight at the front of the car, minimising refocus time. Virtual image location and brightness can be adjusted to the driver's preference.

The Wedge's angle is critical, and was developed in close cooperation with the GM engineering team, windshield supplier Asahi Glass Co. and Nippon Seiki, which supplies the HUD projector and served as package integrator.

One other OE supplier that has a strong presence in the head-up displays market is Siemens VDO Automotive. The company's system can be found in the latest 5 Series of BMW.

A car currently sold in India with a feature nearest to the HUD is the dual-layered digital-cum-analog multimedia display that the Honda Civic is offered with. But it still will not be as convenient as the real HUD technology.

With the spread of HUD technology, who knows, may be the current analog instrument cluster behind the steering wheel will one day become redundant and car manufacturers may find some other use for this space.

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