Low-cost replicable plastic HUD combiner element

We present a novel technique to fabricate low cost mass replicable plastic HUDs for the transportation industry. HUD are implemented in numerous sectors today (in avionics, automobile, military, machinery,...). Typical implementations include an optical combiner which produces the desired virtual image while leaving the field mostly unaffected by the optics. Such combiners optics are usually implemented as cumbersome catadioptric devices in automobile, dichroic coated curved plates, or expensive volume holograms in commercial and military aviation. We propose a novel way to design, model and fabricate combiner masters which can be replicated in mass by UV casting in plastic. We review the various design techniques required for such elements and the novel mastering technology.