Traffic and Navigation Support through an Automobile Heads Up Display (A-HUD)

The automobile industry has produced many cars with new features over the past decade. Taking advantage of advances in technology, cars today have fuel-efficient hybrid engines, proximately sensors, windshield wipers that can detect rain, builtin multimedia entertainment, and all-wheel drive systems that adjust power in real-time. However, the interaction between the driver and the car has not changed significantly. The information being delivered – both in quantity and method – from the car to the driver has not seen the same improvements as there has been “under the hood.” This is a position paper that proposes immersing the driver inside an additional layer of traffic and navigation data, and presenting that data to the driver by embedding display systems into the automobile windows and mirrors. We have developed the initial concepts and ideas for this type of virtual display. Through gaze tracking the digital information is superimposed and registered with real world entities such as street signs and traffic intersections.