A more and more common sight for drivers in the coming years won’t be on their car’s dashboard – it’ll be right before their eyes as they drive. It’s called an augmented reality HUD (head up display) and it’s the next big thing in automotive technology.

This is an exciting area ripe for innovative ideas and cutting-edge technology.

While small, basic head-up displays have been projected onto windscreens of a small number of car models for many years, that limited technology has to this point been a curiosity rather than a mainstream must-have.

The latest version is much more impressive, using holographic projection to show useful driver information, such as speed, fuel level and even navigation prompts, directly in the driver’s line of sight.

This isn’t just a cool feature to show off to your friends, it also saves lives – drivers no longer need to take their eyes off the road to check important information, reducing the risk of collisions and making roads safer.

What’s coming next?

In the near future holographic HUDs will be able to overlay contextual information directly over the real world, from lane change information placed “directly” onto the road ahead, through to tracking and highlighting hazards like pedestrians in the road in real time.

Rapidly improving display technology, leading to larger, crisper images in 3D, means that the way we interact with our cars and the road will soon dramatically change.

Who is developing Augmented Reality HUDs?

As the technology gets more and more impressive, more investment has been made into the businesses developing it. More automotive manufacturers have jumped on board and added holographic HUDs to their flagship models, either as standard equipment or as an optional extra.

Augmented reality HUDs are currently being developed by companies including Continental, WayRay and Envisics, who are pushing the boundaries of what is possible with this emerging technology.

Want to Work on Innovative Projects?

Do you have experience working with displays, electronics or lasers? Would you be interested in joining this fascinating world of augmented reality holographic head-up displays for the automotive industry?

Register your CV on the Millbank website today and we will send you relevant opportunities as they are released. You can also check out our current vacancies below.