Rather than having to look down for information, the car driver can now visualize his road direction and other important information directly on the windscreen of the car in front of his eyes.
How does it work?
The virtual image is projected from the instrument panel onto the windscreen by use of different mirrors. Because the windscreen is not flat nor perpendicular to the drivers eyes, and it consists of 2 pieces of glass separated by a PVB layer, optical correction is needed to make the image sharp and easy to read.
Solutia has developed a Saflex interlayer wedge with non parallel surfaces, allowing this optical correction. The wedge angle expressed in millirads will be specific for each car model as a function of the position of the drivers eyes as well as the windscreen mounting angle in the car. Solutia will work in close collaboration with the car designers and the manufacturer of the HUD display unit to ensure that the wedge angle and its position are designed perfectly to fit that specific car model.
Head Up Display
Head Up Display is a technology which originally came from the military jets. This technology has been translated to the car industry and is becoming more and more attractive as we move into the era of GPS.