Cockpits’ interiors have been increasingly loaded with new features and functions, all blended within a more complex whilst homogeneous layout. Every square centimeter allowing to integrate whether functional or aesthetical element, is a mean for manufacturers and integrators to emphasize their footprints while showing a true expertise in design.
At the heart of what brings the focus of carmakers, are what appeals to our senses. Through those will be driven a series of stimulus that will be down in our memories and our habits. They are part of the overall User Experience and reinforce our learning in how to deal with interfaces and cues.
Innovations linked to ADAS have enhanced drivers’ confidence in the way they are interacting with cars’ functions. However, the implementation of such technologies brings a new dilemma in the sector: the digital detox. Indeed, having brought numerous displays and sensors and less physical buttons have increased confusion among users and instead of revamping cockpits around what the users are interacting with, some OEMs are favoring displays, as the most prominent element of interiors. However, the initial purpose of this interconnected architecture was to encourage a more user-centric approach, but it can bring more and more confusion because of its complexity. It could therefore lead to a reduction of the driver’s attention because the focus is less targeted to the road and the surroundings, and the distraction extends reaction time in case of danger.
The purpose of a Head-Up Display (HUD) for driving is to provide critical information directly in the driver’s field of view, typically projected onto the windshield of a vehicle. This allows drivers to access important data without having to look away from the road. The idea laying under the new promise of safe driving is less distraction, coupled with focus eyesight and targeted tracking of known functions. First iterations of the technology were bulky, non-adapted to the lighting conditions and with low readability due to low resolution projection system.
Significant advances have been made over the last years with improved resolution, widened projection area and overall enhanced perceived quality. The technology is no longer dedicated to high range vehicles and is meant to be deployed on a wider scale as it is becoming a more standardized feature.
However, some constraints are raising along with the development of more complex HUD systems and put the technology at a performance threshold. Indeed, the tight tolerances of windshields’ geometries does not allow full flexibility in implementing such display configuration in any car bodies, significantly making the latter dependent for the choice of driver display. Moreover, raising the standards of windshields’ HUD-related coatings have brought another concern in terms of product life-cycle and profitability. The more interlayers and coatings applied on the windshield, the more cost it would imply in case of replacement.
Plastic-based modules independent from the windshield were also solutions considered for a while, but with limited display performance, those did not prove themselves as a competitive alternative in regards to existing systems.
In order to bridge the gap between the constraints from windshield HUD and small units, FeelInGlass® proposes a new and innovative module called “Reflective Blade” blending the best of the HUD and display world.
It consists of a thin glass part coated with p-polarized layer, allowing for clear readability in any lighting conditions, and whether wearing polarized sunglasses or not. The in-mold encapsulated glass can extend from pillar-to-pillar, giving the cockpit a unique finish and premium feel, while meeting the safety standards required for this application.
This innovation brings the FeelInGlass® technology a step further in diversifying glass uses and integration ability in cockpits.
Discover and experience this innovation during CES 2025 on AGC booth #6466 LVCC West Hall.