VW Golf Head-Up Display

Rethinking how a Head-up Display can increase safety.

Let's make it simple

Todays Head-Up Display solutions (if there are any) limit themselves to displaying Speed, Limits and Directions. Information is just displayed and not put in context.

We asked ourself: How can a Head-Up Display be used to let the driver know if his driving suits the situation he finds himself in and therefore increase safety?

Target-Speed Current-Speed

We found out there is always a relation between your current speed and the speed you should be driving if you want to drive responsible. This „Target-Speed“ depends on various factors. These can be:

Speedlimits
Street conditions
Weather conditions
Traffic
Light conditions
Fuel filling level
Braking distance and more.

Our Goal: Let's find a way to show this relation of „Current-Speed“ and „Target-Speed“ to rise awareness of responsible driving

Our Solution

We want to find a solution that on the one hand shows values and on the other hand gives the driver a subtile hint on how to behave appropriate – reducing or increasing the speed.

We decided to use a two scale layout. The left axis show the current speed being driven, the right one the speed that matches the situation. Information about what leads to this calculated Target-Speed is visualized with icons on the right side. Temporary shown text fading in and out makes it easier to learn what the icons represent. These two axises are connected by an orange speed-limit line (in case there currently is a speed limit) at the specific value.

The bottom part of the visualization is used for permanent information, like engine warnings or in this case speed-limit signs.

The key part of the visualization is the moving connection between these two axises and values as you are driving. The goal is to adjust the speed in a way so the line is as horizontal as possible – leading to a current speed matching the target speed and therefore driving appropriate.

A current speed below the target speed and resulting in an ascending line visualization and giving the driver the information „You could still increase your speed if you want to“.

This means a current speed above the target speed visualizes an descending line giving the driver the information to actually decrease the current speed to level the line.

In case the current speed is even above the speed limit line an additional hatching in orange shows the need to really decrease the speed to get under this speed limit line.

The HUD while not accelerating.

Driving by night with a visible permanent notification.

States

The HUD has some different states, according to whether you're driving too slow, perfect or too fast.

Driving too fast, while the speed limit AND the target speed are at 50 km/h.

Accelerating almost as fast as allowed, but not aligned.

Driving at the current target speed. Everything is perfect.

Having multiple influences by nature, which reduce the target speed, to be safer.

While the tank is almost empty, you will see a constant notification, and a reduced target speed to enhance your reach.

A navigation information is showed as well when you have to make a change in direction soon.

Out of focus

This visualization of a descending or ascending line in combination with the hatching gives the driver a very subtile and non distraction solution to visualize appropriate driving. It works when looked at in and out of focus and in bright or dark lightning conditions.

Startanimation

Password: FHP

To bypass the info gathering of the external circumstances we tried to develop a small concept animation at the bootprocess that transforms itself into the HUD.

Testing a HUD

Testing a HUD can be quite difficult. Always keep in mind: We are not dealing with traditional Displays. We came up with a clever Hack to actually get an idea of how projected information can look on a moving background.

The glossiness of the MacBook Pro Display is great to actually use it as an projection surface. We created our visuals and used an iPad, placed on the keyboard of the MacBook, to project these on the glossy Screen of the MacBook. Loading a movie of a car driving on a street and adjusting the display angle gave us a great idea of how our HUD could look in a real life surrounding.

The interactive Prototype

To do this testing we developed a Prototype for the iPad which is fully controllable:

set speed limit
set target speed
set current speed
switch background video
pop in notifications
mirror for our macbook-presentation-solution

Conclusion

Finding informations that truly should be visible on an in-car HUD was pretty difficult. Too much information distracts the driver, and is not that important to be shown all the time while driving.

We concluded our „what should the driver see“ phase with the idea to show an information that is visible nowhere else: the current safety.

Our outcome is at at variance with the traditional look of a speedometer because, the new kind of „display“ allowed us to rethink how a speedometer could look like and which content can contain.