Functional requirements of automotive head-up displays: A systematic review of literature from 1994 to present

Abstract Despite the long history of automotive head-up displays (HUDs), what information they should display in different situations to best serve the driver remains unanswered. The lack of understanding hinders designing useful automotive HUD systems. In an effort to address this, the current study investigated the developer, researcher and user perspectives on the functional requirements of automotive HUDs through literature review. The review results indicated that: 1) the existing commercial HUDs perform largely the same functions as the conventional in-vehicle displays, 2) past research studies proposed various HUD functions for improving driver situation awareness and driving safety, 3) autonomous driving and other new technologies are giving rise to new HUD information, and 4) little research is currently available on HUD users’ perceived information needs. Based on the review results, this study provides insights into the functional requirements of automotive HUDs and also suggests some future research directions for automotive HUD design.