The future of the automobile industry is about to bring many exciting technological advances. From self-driving vehicles to cars that can monitor the health of the driver, we are about to enter an era where a car is much more than just a car. One of these exciting technologies has been around for a while, but has evolved and undergone beautiful transformations to become the futuristic piece of technology that it is today, the AR-HUD.
Brought to you by the Continental Corporation, AR-HUD stands for Augmented Reality Heads-Up Display. A windshield that is upgraded with this technology will display valuable information about your driving and your surroundings while you drive. This can include showing you your exact speed limit against the speed limit of the stretch of road that you are on. Or it will tell you if you are leaving your lane, on accident and on purpose. Or tell you how far away other cars on the road are from you. Most importantly, it can be a terrific tool for navigation, as it will display directions on your windshield that line up with the way you are supposed to go on the road, so that you don’t have to look down to your GPS and can better focus on driving. Needless to say, it is a highly futuristic view of the way that all vehicles will be in the near future.
The AR-HUD works by putting virtual information onto the windshield, in the driver’s view, in the form of full color graphics. However simple that may sound, the road to getting that information there is a technological marvel. The control unit of the AR-HUD calculates a plethora of information to determine this data. The data is drawn from using a camera and radar information from the vehicle’s sensors to determine the positioning of the road and other objects around you. Meanwhile, it is also calculating digital map data and GPS positioning to map out the surroundings and terrain of where you are driving. All of this information is then broadcast to the driver using a digital micro-mirror device (DMD), which will also project the graphics in such a way that the curve of the windshield will not warp what is being displayed.
The Continental Corporation has said that they want to apply this projection technology with as many car companies as possible, and hopes to bring it into mass production as early as 2016. However, even if your vehicle doesn’t come with the specially equipped windshields to use an AR-HUD, they are also developing a version that will rest on your vehicle’s dashboard, which will also be more affordable. By 2020, expect to see a plethora of vehicles on the road utilizing heads-up display technology.
Related Posts
As an EV owner, understanding your vehicle's battery is critical. From its capacity to its lifespan, and everything in between, we'll guide you through what you need to know to optimize your EV experience. So buckle up and get ready - we're about to shed some light on the electrifying world of EV batteries. What [...]
If your car is running hot, it can be a sign that something’s not right with your engine. Fortunately, diagnosing the cause of an overheating engine isn't too difficult if you know what to look for and how to address it. Keep reading if you want to learn the most common issues that occur when [...]
Your vehicle's exhaust system serves a critical role in managing the byproducts of the combustion process and ensuring optimal engine performance. The appearance of colored smoke from the exhaust pipe, either when stationary or accelerating, can provide valuable clues to underlying mechanical issues. What is a car exhaust? A car exhaust is a system [...]
