Future Tech: Sat-nav projects route in head-up display over the landscape

The technology

A Satellite Navigation System (sat-nav) with a path-breaking heads-up display appears set to transform the way map information is displayed to the vehicle driver. A San Francisco based technology start-up company named Making Virtual Solid (MVS) won the 20,000 Euro top prize at a European competition in Munich in October 2011.

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A Sat-Nav or GPS system with map data has become a pretty standard accessory in cars and trucks. The map databases have been extended over time to include not just the major roads and highways, but also inner city roads and lanes. The data bases also include relevant information, such as location of gas stations, rest areas, food and recreation stops and so on. Most sat-nav systems have a 5 to 8 inch small screen on which the information is displayed. This display is mounted into the infotainment module of the vehicle dashboard or as an attachment held by vacuum cups to the dashboard or the windshield. This requires the vehicle driver to switch attention between the road and the display screen. If the sat-nav information is not immediately clear to the driver, he may inadvertently take his eyes off the road for several seconds while the car is still in motion. The sat-nav makers responded to this potential accident situation by adding voice announcements, but these tended to intrude on music being played in the vehicle or on conversation between occupants and were turned off. Certain higher-end cars now have the sat-nav data projected on the windshield glass as a rectangular window.

In the new MVS technology, the map data information is projected as a 3D image over the whole width of the windshield in a "non distracting and translucent" manner.

What's new?

The driver sees the sat-nav information as a 3D image overlaid over the real image of the road he is seeing through the windshield. The road to be followed to the set destination appears as a thin red line at the top of the windshield display. The driver can simply keep following the red line, which also indicates turn-offs coming up in the distance. The display also includes road signs that are often difficult to spot on the actual road. Other information such as distance or time to destination, traffic congestion information and weather and road conditions are displayed on the sides of the road display. The image is visible even in bright sunlight.

What's refreshing?

The 3D image projected on the windshield, does not need any special eye glasses for viewing. The display also does not need any special coating or treatment of the windshield. Even the 3D heads-up displays used in fighter plane cockpits need vision glasses, that are built into the visor on the crew helmets.

How it works?

The 3D map image is created by a laser beam that refreshes 60 times a second to give a flicker-free image. The laser trace is created by real time map information read-off the GPS data. The high refresh rate ensures that the image remains stable even when the car bumps up and down or the driver shifts position. The laser beam is driven by an electronics board and is projected on the windshield through an arrangement of lenses and mirrors.

The electronics and the optical components are housed in a 305 X 220 X 200 mm housing that needs to be built into the vehicle dashboard to achieve the correct projection angles for the laser beam. The top of the instrument cluster in front of the driver has been identified as one possible location. The 3D heads-up display cannot be added on to an existing car or truck and MVS is working with vehicle manufacturers to build it into the dashboard at the design stage.

The impact

The heads-up display will certainly add to driver convenience and add to safety in driving, with the driver keeping his eyes on the road for more of the time. No cost data has yet been released though MVS says that the cost would permit the system to be standard even in entry level cars. So far, MVS has only done lab simulations and demos and has not yet tested the display in an actual car.

There have been several complaints from users of present sat-nav systems of causing drivers to get lost due to map errors. Even the information on road side gas stations and restaurants are alleged to have been tailored to large chains that enter into deals with map data base developers. The MVS system will continue to depend on third party map data bases and will be subject to similar issues with accuracy.

The heads-up virtual 3D display is, however, a significant advance in sat-nav technology.

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True3D Head Up Display keeps drivers focused on the road