A surface panel is attached to an instrument panel so as to cover a display surface of a display unit disposed on the instrument panel of a vehicle. When the display unit is turned on, light L from the display unit is projected toward the driver's seat side via a thin hole formed in the surface panel.

A vehicle display device includes a tubular member disposed such that an opening edge thereof faces a driver side, a projection unit that projects light toward an inner space of the tubular member, a semitransparent mirror that is disposed in the inner space of the tubular member and reflects light projected from the projection unit toward the driver side to cause a virtual image to be displayed, an image display unit that is disposed on a side opposite to the driver side with respect to the semitransparent mirror in the tubular member and displays an image, and a design unit that is disposed between the image display unit and the semitransparent mirror in the inner space of the tubular member and has a stereoscopic shape.

A virtual image display device that displays a virtual image by projecting a display light image to a projection area of a vehicle, includes: a low-frequency information acquisition portion that acquires attitude change information of the vehicle at a low-frequency band; a high-frequency information acquisition portion that acquires attitude change information of the vehicle at a high-frequency band; an image renderer that renders image data of the display light image corrected to reduce misalignment attributed to the attitude change at the low-frequency band; a projection optical unit that includes a display surface to display an original image based on the image data, and projects light of the original image as the display light image; and a display controller that displaces the original image to reduce the misalignment of the virtual image attributed to the attitude change at the high-frequency band.

A vehicle display apparatus includes an HUD that projects a display image formed at a first conjugate position to a projection member so as to place the display image as a virtual image at a second conjugate position. The first conjugate position is conjugate to a viewing region inside a vehicle through the projection member, and the second conjugate position is conjugate with an external sensor through the projection member. An HCU increases display luminance of a selected image selected from the display image to a fail-safe luminance by controlling a virtual image display state of the display image when a fail condition is met. The fail condition is that the current brightness detected by the external sensor exceeds an upper limit of an allowable range.

A passive infra-red guidance system and method for augmenting operation of an autonomous vehicle on a roadway includes at least one forward-looking infra-red imaging sensor mounted on the vehicle in operative communication with an image processor tied into the vehicle's operational system. The system determines the left and right edges of the roadway using thermal imaging, and then determines the centerline of the travel lane in which the vehicle is travelling based on the determined left and right edges of the roadway. The system then compares the determined centerline of the travel lane with the actual position of the vehicle and identifies any adjustment needed for the vehicle's position based on the comparison. The left and right edge determination may comprise identifying a difference between a thermal signature representative of the roadway and a thermal signature representative of a non-roadway portion that is located proximate to the roadway portion.

A system and method for adjusting the display of light-based content of a display system includes a display unit. The display unit includes a first layer cooperating with a backlight, a second layer disposed proximate the first layer and a third layer disposed proximate the second layer. At least one microcontroller in communication with the display unit includes a first processing unit configured to receive a dimming level value and a second processing unit. The second processing unit evaluates the dimming level value against a threshold value and adjusts one or more properties of the display unit in response to the measured values.

Exemplary embodiments described in this disclosure are generally directed to systems and methods for configuring an infotainment display in an automobile to operate as a backup display to an electronic instrument cluster of the automobile in the event of a failure in the electronic instrument cluster. For example, if the electronic instrument cluster turns blank as a result of a failed component or a faulty power supply, at least some of the graphics that were displayed on the electronic instrument cluster are automatically displayed on the infotainment display. The graphics displayed on the infotainment display can include, for example, a speedometer graphic that is dynamically updated in a real-time mode of operation to indicate a speed at which the automobile is moving. The speedometer graphic on the infotainment display substantially replicates the speedometer graphic that was displayed on the electronic instrument cluster prior to the occurrence of the fault.

An image generation apparatus that generates an image notifying an occupant of a vehicle about a notification target located in a traveling direction of the vehicle, and outputs a virtual image of the image to a head-up display device that displays the virtual image while superimposing the virtual image on a foreground of the vehicle. The image generation apparatus includes: a target information acquisition part that obtains positional information and a moving direction of the notification target; an image generation part that generates a ripple image displayed by the head-up display device while superimposed on a road surface where the notification target is located when the target information acquisition part obtains at least one positional information; and a subject vehicle information acquisition part that obtains a traveling speed. The image generation part stops generation of the ripple image when the traveling speed exceeds a threshold speed specified beforehand.

Techniques are described for remotely controlling functions of a vehicle without an integrated touchscreen. According to an embodiment, an auxiliary device is provided comprising a display and a processor that executes computer executable components stored in at least one memory. The computer executable component can comprise a feature acquisition component that determines electronic features of the vehicle that are respectively controlled by electromechanical controls of the vehicle, and a display component that displays a graphical user interface via the display wherein the graphical user interface comprises one or more graphical controls for controlling one or more features of the electronic features of the vehicle. The computer executable components further comprising a remote-control component that remotely controls the one or more features via interaction with the one or more graphical controls as rendered via the display.

A display system for a motor vehicle is provided. The display system comprises a holographic projector assembly and a steering wheel assembly. The steering wheel assembly includes a ring-shaped member configured to be held by a driver of the vehicle and rotated about a central axis in order to steer the vehicle. The holographic projector assembly is configured to produce a holographic image inside a central region about which the ring-shaped member circumferentially extends.