dkvetteguy

Hold on buying pioneer aftermarket nav!!! New 2012 pioneer models will have heads up display projection and will be shown at coming CES in Vegas coming up!!! http://news.dice.com/2011/10/26/pioneer-heads-up/

Pioneer is preparing to launch a navigation system that uses laser projection to superimpose maps and directions in the space in front of a car’s windshield.

There is no questioning the utility of a good car navigation system – it takes the guess work out of getting around, spares you from leafing through street directories on the roadside and probably saves a few trees in the process. But while their accuracy and graphics have improved over time, the basic concept has not changed a whole lot: You have a screen to provide a visual representation of your actual environment and a speaker to relay directions so you’re not distracted.

With their AR Head-Up Display unit, Pioneer may just have a game-changer on their hands. The display uses a laser projector and concave half mirror to project maps and directions 1.5m to 2m in front of the windshield – onto the real world.

From Pioneer:


Last year, we produced a very large version of this system, just to show it could be done. This year, we’ve made the product compact, so it will fit in a car and we can release it commercially. We’ve also incorporated AR technology, to show routes directly on the scenery the driver sees. So this display can show useful content, such as arrows where the driver needs to turn, and restaurants and parking areas as pop-up information.

Pioneer seems to have big plans for the AR-HUD:


We’re thinking of also integrating this system with smartphones. As this is an in-car display, its purpose is to show drivers essential information in a way that’s easy to understand. Because we want to make the system widely available, the idea is that people can purchase this AR-HUD and install it in their own car. We aim to release this product commercially in 2012.

So far, the company hasn’t released a price, and your author would be hesitant to speculate as to how much something like this would cost. Laser projectors don’t sound cheap, but remember it’s a small one, and by doing away with the screen and the need to render complex graphics, Pioneer might be able to keep the build cost out of the stratosphere. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Daekwan06

Cant wait for CES. These are the type of announcements I've waited all year to hear!

brettbolt

After watching the video demonstration of the device, I am concerned that it will actually cause more distraction than a conventional GPS. The display covers a large portion of the drivers field of view. Its right in front of you, not at the bottom of the windshield like the GM HUD.

If people like it, thats great. But personally, I think it would make me crash into something.

Vel-Yellowc6

Not a fan of an aftermarket setup but this would be amazing to be integrated in stock form for the c7

RJ98Vette

I would get it in a heartbeat if it integrated with my existing HUD. Having two displays up would be a bit of overkill in my opinion.

Robert

ladder13

Sales of 1LT vettes to skyrocket

Vel-Yellowc6

lol But that things gonna be a $2500 system i'm sure.. Hell its about time car audio manufacturers can make some money again.

SilverScorp

If that can be retrofitted into my Z130bt, it's a done deal.

dkvetteguy

yep if it retrofits z130 im in too

FortMorganAl

This is NOTHING like the GM HUD NAV interface. GM HUD displays NAV directions on the windshield that appears to be right around the front fascia. This is a honking monster concave mirror that you mount from the top! Watch the video!!! Not only is it way too large of a mirror but it also would seem to be a safety hazard in an accident.

I would love to have an aftermarket HUD NAV that is better than the GM factory HUD NAV combination but this certainly isn't it. You put the optics in the display unit, not a concave mirror between the driver and the windshield!!!

rz2mbc

sounds interesting.......wonder how it will look with the Vettes current HUD.....and it would be nice if it did retro with the pioneer 120 & 130 units.....

brettbolt

I was wondering if anyone else agreed with my post #3 above.

I wouldn't want the HUD display much larger and projected over things (like other cars) that I really need to see.

FortMorganAl

I can see your point and I think it would depend on the amount of information presented. Yes, I can see it would be a distraction that would overwhelm the advantage of a HUD in keeping your eyes outside the car rather than inside on the dash.

My point, however, was that this thing is a big piece of plastic hanging down in front of you, not just an image displayed on the windshield. That's going to be a distraction also especially if it is bouncing around. And I wonder what the police are going to think seeing someone driving around with a partially silvered piece of plastic hanging in front of them. If tinting the windshield is illegal, how about this contraption?

m48xhp

wow! this would solve my burning desire to install HUD and replace my Z3!!!
i would assume it would also display MPH and other metrics

brettbolt

California is rather strict about things that impair a driver's vision - http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26708.htm

You are allowed to have something in a 5x5 inch section of the lower left corner of your windshield, or a 7x7 inch section in the lower right. I'm not sure about other states.

Anyway, I hope Pioneer safety tests this thing before releasing it.

SilverScorp

Bob, I'll take the word PROTOTYPE for 200 please..."you have have the daily double!".

FortMorganAl

Yes, this is just a prototype but the concave mirror is a requirement for it to work. Are they going to replace the windshield with one that has a concave surface ground into it? It's called physical laws and sometimes you just can't ignore them. GM solves the problem by having a comparatively small display with the projector mounted deep in the dash. This is an aftermarket so they can't expect you to cut a big hole in the dash. To get a display the size they want the projector would have to be several feet from the windshield or several square feet in size. Both those options seem unreasonable. The solution is to reflect the image off a concave surface. This allows the projector to be small and close to the screen at the same time. But how do you get a concave surface on a flat windshield? You put a piece of plastic in front of it. Just like it shows in the video. If they had some other way of doing it, why make such an obviously flawed prototype? Why say it uses a "laser projector and concave half mirror" if there isn't going to be a mirror in the final product? Watch the video and look at the brackets on the mirror!!! And don't think engineers are smart enough to be able to violate physical laws just because you want them to. Hope only goes so far.

ninjabob86

I'll need two. That will give the wife her own HUD so she can yell, "You missed the turn!" more accurately.

brettbolt

This is one frame from the video which shows what FortMorganAl is talking about. It looks to me like a near finished product rather than a prototype.

A semi-transparent mirror with a projector -- not something I would want right in front of my face when driving.

But maybe the product will be a big hit, who knows. We'll just have to wait and see.

0Andrew6@TheDoubleAA

Very very interesting to see the technology, I think the c7 might have the LCD type display so you may be able to reverse engineer for c6 and possible c5. Would be very cool to have different type colors as what I've worked on (limited time) hasn't worked out exactly like I wanted.