HUD – Head-Up Display

Originally designed for military fighter aircraft, the head-up display quickly found its way into automotive use through the fact that the same benefits it provides a fighter pilot can be applied to the average road user as well.

A head-up display is named for the fact that it allows a driver to keep their head up and focused on the road while simultaneously being able to view vehicle information.

This is achieved through a lighting system that projects information onto the windscreen of the car which is semi-transparent so as not to take away from the driver’s ability to see the road.

Some models project the information onto a small transparent screen in front of the windscreen instead.

Information displayed normally includes a digital speed read-out along with other information such as navigation directions, audio information, and increasingly more advanced information such as traffic sign recognition.