Head-up displays (HUDs), navigation information reflected on windshield glass to exempt drivers from watching screens of navigation devices for driving safety, have been increasingly adopted for high-end automobile models by Japan- and Germany-based car makers and there is expected to be large potential demand for such devices, according to Digitimes Research.
In view of large potential demand, automotive electronics makers, including Japan-based Nippon Seiki and Denso and Germany-based Continental, and automotive navigation device makers, such as Japan-based Pioneer, Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic and Kenwood, as well as Japan-based Konica Minolta have stepped into HUD production, Digitimes Research indicated.
HUDs are through reflecting navigation information displayed on LED or TFT-LCD panels onto windshield glass via lenses or flat mirrors. There are two types of HUDs based on TFT-LCD panels, one is installed by automotive electronics makers on an OEM basis and the other is added by automotive navigation device makers on an ex-factory basis.
In addition, pico-projection has been applied to HUDs. There are four such pico-projection technologies, that is, DLP with Texas Instruments being leading developer, LCoS developed by Sony and JVC, MEMS laser-scanning projection developed by MicroVision, and HTPS (high-temperature poly-Si) TFT-LCD developed by Seiko Epson.