Head-up displays are no longer on a dream list of features—they are already making their way into luxury cars and are the imminent future for the more affordable vehicle offerings out there. Head-up displays (HUD) will be the new norm in presenting information to the driver in the safest way possible, enabling drivers to keep their eyes on the road.

In a recent Forbes article, Altia was featured as the expert on the future of HUD because of our integral user-interface software and display systems. Altia CEO, Mike Juran, commented:

“Head-up displays are going to be the third leg to this stool of autonomous driving and EVs…They will be the key to transitioning from driver control to semi-autonomous control. This is important because, if a driver is going to turn over control of the car for a while to read texts, or check e-mail, or doze off, then the car will be able to say, ‘You’d better pay attention now because I’m in a situation I can’t handle.”

Juran went on to clarify the types of information that will be displayed, how graphics will need to appear and how safety is the utmost concern:

“You only want exactly the information you need there, and you’d better be able to see through it. You can’t block the driver’s view. So you need to have semi-transparent graphics that are very minimalist and the most important information. It’s not like a nav screen where you can play a movie or show dog photos.”

HUDs have been on Altia’s project and client lists for a while. In January 2021, Altia Design Research Lab in partnership with Texas Instruments and Ceres showcased a heavy goods electric truck HUD. Autovista Group featured the topic in the article, “Head-up display: gimmick or godsend?”.

Our display featured “advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) warnings, bridge-height information, battery temperature cautions, front blind-spot detection and turn-by-turn directions.” Juran went on to share his perspective on HUDs in heavy trucks.

“Combining the HUD with the truck is solving one of our bigger problems on the road, as it relates to safety, productivity and driver engagement…If we [focused solely on this and] outfit all of these heavy trucks with HUDs, and then move that into the passenger vehicle space, I think we will have done society a great service.”

Check out the “Head-up displays gimmick of godsend?” video now—it’s definitely worth the watch!