Pioneer is developing a head-up display for cars that links in with the navigation function available on many modern smartphones. A prototype of the device is on show this week at Japan's Ceatec electronics show, and the company said it hopes to have a commercial model available in 2012.
The prototype uses a laser to display bright, high-contrast, full-color images on a screen that would be mounted above the dashboard, between the driver and the windscreen. To the driver the projected images would appear in the lower part of the windscreen.
The screen used in the prototype is about double the size of a car's rear-view mirror, which makes it larger than most current head-up display systems.
A demonstration model was hooked up to an Android-based phone and displayed a navigation map on the left-hand side and an animated Android robot on the right-hand side that passed on information to drivers. (A video of the display can be seen on YouTube.)
The cell phone provides the visual output and network connection that keeps the system updated with road conditions and other information.
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