Ford Is Ready To Upgrade The Head-Up Display In A Big Way

The automotive industry always has a keen focus on both safety and the advancement of technology, and the latest innovation from Ford is an example of both. Developed by Ceres Holographics in collaboration with Eastman and Carlex, Ford presented a prototype holographic display at the Vehicle Display and Interface Conference last week, showing how the novel HoloFlekt film can be integrated into an automotive windshield to create a transparent head-up display system with richer and more easily legible graphics than the systems currently on the market.

There’s Only One Thing Holding It Back From Mainstream Production

The benefit of this is that the technology can provide greater clarity when delivering information near the driver’s line of sight, helping to keep the driver’s gaze above the dashboard and thereby lowering the risk of distraction. A similar motivation inspired the concept behind the BMW Panoramic Vision system, although that uses an unconventional, narrow screen rather than a film. Ford’s Janice Tardiff, Paint Application Technical Expert, said that her team’s work with the technology has been completed and that the film’s application across the entire windshield could be achieved seamlessly, adding that the LED projector unit hidden within the dashboard is cost-effective to produce.

In addition, Tardiff said that the final windshield laminates had passed all necessary crash, durability, and optical tests, which means that there’s only one thing standing in the way of this tech making its way to cars, and that’s for Tardiff’s group to start working with product management teams to see where it should be introduced first. Notably, Volvo has developed a similar idea that covers the entire windshield, thanks to technology developed by Spectralics, and Ferrari has patented a system that superimposes driving line suggestions and tips onto the windshield like in a racing game.

Only A Matter Of Time

Andy Travers, CEO of Ceres Holographics, says that he and his company “are confident that the technology has achieved a state of commercial readiness that allows OEMs to offer a differentiated user experience with a primary objective of enhanced safety.” Now that the technology can be scaled for production in an affordable manner, Ford needs to find the right place in which to debut it. Product planners are thinking several years ahead to ensure that their vehicles can compete with unseen rivals of the future, and while Ford has not indicated what sort of car we can expect to see this tech in, its readiness for integration means that, as long as supporting systems and surrounding architecture require little modification, it could well debut in a new car within the next couple of years.

Even if this specific full-screen HUD system is not introduced soon, something similar surely will be. Panasonic revealed a highly advanced full-screen HUD system at CES 2021, and along with the other similar ideas we’ve mentioned here, it’s clear that the industry is ready to upgrade the mechanisms it uses to deliver information to vehicle occupants. Perhaps someday, this sort of idea could be used for in-car gaming. Happily, Honda has already thought of that…