Automotive Engineering - March 2019 - 25

COVER STORY

Comparison of production Denso HUD display in current Lexus LS (left) and the co-pilot's HUD in a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft
at right. The 24-in. Denso unit alerts drivers with pedestrian cross-traffic warning.

FROM TOP: LEXUS FOR LS IMAGE; TELSTAR LOGISTICS/WIKI COMMONS FOR C-130J IMAGE; LINDSAY BROOKE

"Anything on the CAN
network can be brought
into the HUD."
Navigator models, has the largest field of view (FOV)-10 degrees
wide and 2.5 degrees high.
It's also claimed to be the brightest display, providing "great image
clarity and brightness simultaneously," enthused Davis.
Larger and brighter full-color displays provide the opportunity to
move more driver information off the instrument panel and onto the
windscreen, where it can be seen more effortlessly by the driver. In
addition to the typical digital speed reading, the HUD can convey data
about the current speed limit, adaptive cruise control system's status,
indicate turn signal use, and flash collision-avoidance warnings. In
manual-transmission-equipped sports cars, HUDs provide upshift
lights like those in Formula 1 race cars.
Indeed, "anything on the CAN network, you can bring in to the
HUD," noted Drescher. Improving the image quality boosts the effectiveness of bringing that data to drivers, she said, adding: "The colors
are definitely much more saturated so you can get nice contrast
against the background so you can provide better alerts."
This is particularly relevant when driving in snowy environments,
she explained, when the bright ambient light tends to wash out conventional HUD images.
The 24-inch Denso-supplied system in the Lexus LS includes pedestrian alerts and front cross-traffic alerts right in the HUD where
they can't be missed.
"By integrating the Front Cross Traffic Alert System into the Head
Up Display on LS, you are alerted very easily with the direction of
the upcoming vehicle, before you can even see the vehicle in some
situations," noted Chad Deschenes, Technical Training Senior
Analyst for Lexus College. This alone helps decrease the reaction
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

The HUD market "is growing faster than we thought," noted Sue
Drescher at Continental North America.
time for drivers, saving valuable seconds when every
second matters.
As more information moves into the driver's field of
view, there is less need for the proliferation of displays
on the dashboard. "Today, when we use our HUD, we
reduce the amount of information on the instrument
panel, because it is redundant," Lincoln's Davis said.

Holographic waveguide tech
And as HUDs grow in display area, they have started
pointing the way to the 'holy grail' of driver-information
conveyance-augmented reality (AR). Next generation
HUDs will combine AR information in the HUD image,
such as road signs and objects. The aim is to make understanding of driver information more intuitive.
March 2019 25

Automotive Engineering - March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive Engineering - March 2019