Have you always thought the screens on fighter jets looked hi-tech with all the information laid out in front of the glass? Well, now you can get a heads-up display (HUD) on your road vehicle that acts as an all-in-one innovative tech statement and safety feature behind the wheel. Admittedly, having the satellite navigation system and vehicle speed directly in your line of sight on the windscreen is super cool. However, it is also helpful in reducing distractions that traditionally are the cause of many road accidents each year.
HUD software is becoming increasingly widespread in a host of brand-new models. The BMW 7 Series has a full-color HUD with a projection area on the windscreen that’s 75 percent larger than before. The onboard satellite navigation system can even display which lane to be in on the windscreen to help drivers exit motorways more safely. Meanwhile, the Mazda3 also has an Active Driving Display that has proven to be quite popular with owners of these Japanese vehicles. If your current vehicle doesn’t have HUD software preinstalled, it’s possible to acquire an additional HUD software to improve your driving experience. Let’s look at a few of the leading options on the market today.
HUDWAY Cast
HUDWAY is looking to release a feature-laden Drive HUD in the near future, but the HUDWAY Cast is a safe and affordable option in the meantime. Utilizing either Apple AirPlay or Google Cast, you can broadcast your smartphone screen directly onto the windscreen HUD. It shows everything from the music you’re listening to and the satellite navigation route to your vehicle’s miles per gallon (MPG).
Garmin Heads-Up Display
At 25 percent cheaper than the HUDWAY Cast, you might want to consider the Garmin Heads-Up Display. It’s thin and quite lightweight, so you’ll barely notice it on your dashboard. It is designed to project your driving data onto your windscreen via a transparent film or a reflector lens. You can adjust the brightness of the display depending on whether you’re driving in daylight or at night. The downside is that Google Maps is not compatible; it only works with Navigon for Android-powered smartphones and StreetPilot for iPhones.
Arpenkin X5
The Arpenkin X5 is at the lower end of the price scale when it comes to HUD software. A pocket-sized device, it operates similarly to the Garmin HUD, projecting data onto the windscreen directly. It also adopts nanotechnology to minimize glare and reflections, day or night. You’ll need to find your vehicle’s OBD-II port, as the Arpenkin X5 can only operate while plugged into it.
Although heads-up displays are helping to reduce dangerous distractions on our motorways, they are also increasingly used by online poker players to get detailed information on their opponents to assist with their decision-making at the tables. Unlike other software, such as bots or tools that reduce the need for human intervention and share hole card data, HUDs that monitor and display numerical-based statistics in-game are permitted by the leading networks of online poker. Also, there have been instances of prototype HUDs being used to display data on the inside of the goggles of swimmers and deep-sea scuba diving masks. The HUDs project data onto the diver’s retina using virtual retina display technology.
In today’s big data world, the need for HUD software is more necessary than ever. The fact that this software not only can improve day-to-day efficiency but improve safety and — in some cases — even save lives on the road is laudable. It will be worth watching to see what other industries and professions are revolutionized by HUD technology in the years to come.