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 vehicle control system for a semi-autonomous vehicle is provided. The vehicle control system includes a controller coupled to a plurality of sensors positioned within the vehicle and to a heads-up display (HUD. The controller includes a processor in communication with a memory device. The controller receives sensor data from the plurality of sensors, determines, the vehicle is turning, identifies, based on the sensor data, a candidate turn path for the vehicle, and identifies an actual turn path for the vehicle. The controller also transmits, to one or more automation systems of the vehicle, a control signal that instructs the automation systems to perform a turn-assist function to reduce a determined deviation between the actual turn path and the candidate turn path and to transmit, to the HUD, a control signal that instructs the HUD to display a notification to a driver of the vehicle of the turn-assist function.

A projection display device includes: a light modulation unit that spatially modulates, in accordance with image data that is input, light emitted by a light source; a housing that accommodates the light modulation unit; a projection optical system that is accommodated in the housing and projects the light that has been spatially modulated onto a projection surface of a vehicle through an opening portion of the housing; and a cover that closes the opening portion, the cover has a shape whose longitudinal direction is a direction extending from a driver's seat of the vehicle toward a passenger seat of the vehicle, and a front surface of the cover is closer to the projection surface than a reference plane and has a shape as defined herein.

In an embodiment, movement-data is gathered with one or more sensors (e.g., accelerometers, GPS receivers, etc.) during a driver's driving session. A score may be calculated for the driving session, and the driver's progress is evaluated by a driver-evaluation system. A driving session report or graphical user-interface (GUI) is generated with a computer processor and displayed at a display device. The displayed report or GUI includes a graphic representing the driver's progress relative to historical data.

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.

A projection display device includes: a projection display unit that performs, in accordance with input image data, spatial modulation on light emitted by a light source, and projects image light obtained through the spatial modulation onto a projection surface of a vehicle to display an image that is based on the image data; an eye position detection unit that detects, in accordance with captured image data obtained by capturing an image of a driver of the vehicle by an imaging unit, positions of two eyes of the driver in the captured image data; and a control unit as defined herein.

Herein is disclosed a virtual embodiment display system comprising one or more image sensors, configured to receive one or more images of a vehicle occupant; one or more processors, configured to determine a gaze direction of the vehicle occupant from the one or more images; select a display location corresponding to the determined gaze direction; and control an image display device to display a virtual embodiment of an intelligent agent at the display location; the image display device, configured to display the virtual embodiment of the intelligent agent at the selected display location according to the one or more processors.

In described examples, an image-generating panel is arranged for modulating a projection beam to include a modulated optical image. A cooling device is arranged to transfer heat received from the image-generating panel to a heat sink. The cooling device is arranged to receive the projection beam on a first side and to transmit the projection beam from a second side. The heat received from the image-generating panel can include heat generated by the image-generating panel in response to incidental sunlight.

Vehicle systems and methods for redirecting the direction of gaze of a driver towards an object are disclosed. In one embodiment, a vehicle includes an object detection system configured to output an object signal in response to detecting an object, a driver gaze monitoring system configured to output a direction signal, a heads-up display configured to generate a visual indicator, one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform at least at the following: determine an object and a respective location of the object based at least in part on the object signal from the object detection system, and determine a direction of gaze of a driver based at least in part on the direction signal from the driver gaze monitoring system.