Hyundai Mobis, the megasupplier to Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, wants to bring the big screen to the front seat with a full-width head-up display stretching across the entire windshield.
The technology lets passengers watch movies, take video calls or play games on the full front glass, while vehicle data appears in the driver’s line of sight, the South Korean company said.
The Holographic Windshield Display is being developed by Hyundai Mobis in conjunction with German optical company Zeiss. The technology, which is already being demonstrated to customers, turns the entire windshield into a transparent infotainment and driving data display.
It represents the next-generation evolution of today’s head-up displays, Hyundai Mobis said.
The breakthrough comes from pairing a micro-thin windshield film developed by Zeiss with a downsized projector system from Hyundai Mobis. The combination of the two enables holographic images and video to be rendered on the front glass. The film’s special properties also allow the system to shed the bulky lenses and mirrors used in traditional head-up displays.
The partners want to start mass production as early as 2027, Hyundai Mobis Executive Vice President Jung Soo-kyung told Automotive News in an Oct. 17 interview.
“Our concept is to use the windshield as a display for vehicles,” Jung said. “It can provide a display over a much wider area, potentially turning the entire windshield into a display.”
Jung, who heads the supplier’s automotive electronics business unit, said the technology brings big safety, design and convenience advantages over current systems.
The mammoth holographic display, which stretches from the driver’s side to the passenger side, improves safety by enabling the driver to see all critical information without averting their eyes from the road ahead. Video projected onto the passenger side is not visible to the driver.
The images achieve 90 percent transmittance, approaching complete transparency.
The holographic display also allows for more creative open packaging of the cockpit by eliminating the need to install certain gauges or meters in the dashboard because they can be projected into a natural line-of-sight position.
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Furthermore, the downsized system saves a lot of space in the dashboard. Current systems, which require special lenses and mirrors, use up to 15 liters of volume space. The new compact system can fit into a space of just 7 liters, Jung said.
The technology marries Hyundai Mobis’ vehicle electronics with Zeiss Microoptics’ microoptical and holographic technologies development. From Zeiss comes Multifunctional Smart Glass technology, large-scale holographic projection and lighting systems, plus integrated cameras.
Hyundai Mobis oversees development and supplies the projector.
The technology requires miniaturization, noise reduction, heat reduction and thermal management expertise. Images are rendered on a transparent windshield film from Zeiss that is almost as thin as a human hair.
The downsized projector requires “several times” the power of today’s projectors in order to render large images in full sunlight. The system is envisioned as using two projectors, one for each side of the cockpit, although three can be used for high-spec applications, Jung said.
“This ensures clear visibility of content even when it is bright outside,” he said. “Additionally, this technology enables transparent display on curved surfaces and reduces space requirements by using a small projector, allowing for flexible design of future mobility spaces.”
Other applications could include projections onto side windows, sunroofs and taillamps.
Zeiss Microoptics presented its technology at CES (formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas in January. It proposed the concept of “floating switches” that are projected onto a transparent surface only when they are needed and then activated by voice command or gesture control.
“The market wants pillar-to-pillar display,” Jung said.
“At first, it will be mainly used in high-end vehicles, but the plan is to expand it to all models,” he said. “We aim to develop products that cater to different models, price ranges and specifications.”
Hyundai Mobis doesn’t have any committed customers yet, but Jung said he is prioritizing initial sales to Hyundai Motor Group brands Hyundai, Kia and Genesis. Kia Corp. owns a 17.5 percent stake in Hyundai Mobis, while Mobis holds about 22 percent of Hyundai Motor Co.
The global market for holographic head-up displays is expected to reach 7 million units by 2030, Hyundai Mobis said, citing forecasts by the international market research firm Omdia Research.
Hyundai Mobis ranks No. 6 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers, with estimated worldwide sales to automakers of $36.96 billion in 2023.
Source: autonews.com
