HUDs (head-up displays) are now playing a crucial role in automotive HMI (human-machine interfaces). A HUD relieves the driver of the need to take eyes off the road and refocus to look down at the instrument cluster or a secondary display. Instead, there’s a virtual image that appears to float over the hood at an apparent distance of about 2 meters ahead of the car. This reduces dangerous distraction by displaying key information—speed, navigation directions, and alerts; that kind of thing—directly in the driver’s line of sight. Information can be prioritized or displayed as necessary in context, so as to avoid having too much simultaneous data presented. With no need to focus back and forth, near and far, inside the car and out, a HUD can reduce visual fatigue during long journeys. So that is both a safety feature and a technological value-add. They are rapidly becoming a must as more and more information becomes available, so it can be presented to the driver in a non-distracting manner. And maybe, with additional projection technology and voice/gesture interaction, they’ll practically become the cockpit of the future! Have a look at this week’s in-depth.
The BMW i4 and iX were released last March, with interior details unveiled last week. These EV Interiors, using BMW’s fifth-generation eDrive system, are presented in this week’s Design Lounge.
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