continental puts augmented reality into the windscreen with its head up display

lincoln motor company is putting continental’s ‘head-up display’ into production for the first time, allowing drivers to communicate even better with their vehicles in the future. head-up displays show all relevant information in the driver’s field of vision, reducing driver distraction and therefore making a significant contribution to enhanced comfort and safety.

all images © continental 

continental’s ‘head up display’ generates graphical elements in the same way as digital cinema projectors, based on mirror optics and a picture generating unit (PGU). introducing an intermediate screen, sequential color management and a lens-based optical path, the image is brighter and sharper than with conventional head-up displays. the lincoln display is one of the brightest and largest in its class and allows drivers to see the display even through polarized sunglasses. due to the increased display area, more information can be displayed from other elements of the holistic human-machine interface.

head-up displays are a key technology in holistic human-machine interaction, enabling a wordless dialog between driver and vehicle, and displaying relevant information directly in the driver’s field of view depending on the driving situation. drivers no longer have to look away from the road to read information from the instrument cluster, they look instead at continental’s display on the windshield. this intuitive dialog between driver and vehicle is an important step on the road to automated driving.