Projection on the windshield - a successful application of aviation technology

The psychological burden on the driver in urban traffic is comparable to the stress experienced by an interceptor pilot in an air battle. It is not surprising that automakers borrow from their air engineers colleagues some technical solutions that increase the speed of decision-making in a critical situation.

This primarily applies to information ergonomics. In particular, the leading manufacturers of the automotive industry have been increasingly using the projection of the main instruments placed on the torpedo panel on the windshield.

Aeronautical experience

With the advent of jet aircraft, and in particular supersonic aircraft, the time allowed for the pilot to make a decision in the air battle was drastically reduced. If two fighters are flying toward each other, the distance between them is reduced by hundreds of meters every second of a second. In this case, pilots should monitor such important flight indicators as altitude, heel and trim, so as not to crash into the ground or enter the machine into an uncontrolled tailspin. In the fever of battle, as the conflicts of the second half of the last century showed, the pilots do not have time to follow the fuel consumption, as a result of which a rather large percentage of losses occurred because the kerosene ran out of fuel in the tanks.

Constantly lowering his eyes to the dashboard, distracted from the air situation, it was difficult, especially when it changes every moment. The decision was made for the first time, according to one source, in Sweden, by Saab, and on others in the USSR (the situation of secrecy at the turn of the 50's and 60's does not allow to say who had it before). In any case, the designers of that time were not easy. The projection on the windshield of the aircraft was carried out by means of a complex optical system that displayed the signal from a kinescope, rather bulky. Nevertheless, the result was worth the effort.

The first experiments of car builders

In 1988, the American firm Oldsmobile introduced a novelty. "Cetlass Syprim" in itself was a good machine, good and beautiful, but all its advantages served only as a backdrop for the main "chip". For the first time, along with the usual torpedo, a projection was applied to the windshield of a car produced in series. Fifty copies were immediately purchased by the organizers of the Indianapolis 500 race, making an order for the convertible body variant - obviously, in order for the innovation to be better visible to all comers. Actually, according to our today's standards, the display was more than modest. The most important thing then seemed to be the projection of speed on the windshield (for exceeding it was always fined), and besides it, the driver could see the speed of rotation, turn signals, the temperature of the antifreeze and a couple of parameters - all in one color. But the beginning was made, and soon the example of "Oldsmobile" was followed by BMW, Honda, Citroen, Nissan and Toyota.

Development of ideas

Other technical achievements of the military-industrial complex were also interested in the automotive companies. For example, night vision devices were useful for driving in the dark. The projection on the windshield of the infrared image, carried out in such a way that the driver visually combines the real object with its ghostly-blue silhouette, helps to avoid the impact on people and animals suddenly appearing on the roadway. Such systems are available for some models of Honda, Cadillac and Toyota. Especially important is the vision of boundary objects when parking, especially if the image is also "speaking", and the distance to obstacles is measured and reflected right before the eyes of the driver. But this is another level of technology, which can not be achieved without computer technology.

New opportunities

The usual projection of the speedometer on the windshield today seems to be a simple task, its solution is available even for a small workshop, engaged in the restyling of the interior of cars. Really advanced technologies suggest the creation of a completely different, much more serious information saturation of the driver's field of vision while driving. Today, the information obtained with GPS is very important on the way, but a tight timetable makes it difficult to use the system. We need to stop and look at the electronic map. The projection of the navigator on the windshield allows you to navigate while driving, looking through the display and making decisions almost instantly.

Technology and operating principle

The main scourge of the "transparent display" - its monochrome - was effectively overcome after the massive introduction of late-20th century technologies, namely low-power lasers, LEDs, liquid crystal display devices and plasma panels. All these achievements of the technological revolution allowed to create small-size, non-power-consuming and affordable devices, easy to install on any cars.

The principle of mapping itself is quite simple. The data from the sensors installed on the units and aggregates flock to the central information device, combined with the projector. On its display an image is formed, which after its illumination is fed to the optical lens system, and then to a transparent polymer film, pasted on the glass.

How to do it?

In general, there are systems that provide a good display of instrument readings, which anyone can set independently. It is not necessary to seriously understand the schemes of the car. For example, data on the speed can be obtained from the GPS-navigator, and they will be even more reliable, as, unlike the usual tachometer, do not depend on the diameter of the wheels. It should be remembered, however, that the projection on the windshield will be of high quality only in the case of its ideal (or almost) state. Cracks, scratches and chips are unacceptable. And, of course, the easier it is to install such a system, the more expensive it is. It is more reliable and efficient to apply to specialized workshops.