Pioneer Preps Laser Heads-Up Display For Cars

itwbennett writes "On display at Japan's Ceatec show this week is a heads-up display from Pioneer that links with a smartphone's navigation system. The prototype uses a laser to display bright, high-contrast, full-color images on a screen that would be mounted above the dashboard so drivers don't have to take their eyes fully off the road in order to receive driving instructions from their robot overlords. The demonstration model was hooked up to an Android-based phone and displayed a navigation map on the left-hand side and an animated Android robot on the right-hand side that passed on information to drivers. 'We are currently aiming for an after-market product, but we are talking with car manufacturers,' said Masaya Hashida, tech manager at Pioneer's smart vision business development department." An anonymous reader points out another gadget shown at Ceatec: a pair of augmented reality glasses that projects information to a user's peripheral vision and weighs only 20 grams.

Re:Green Laser

[TheEyes]

So, does this mean that Microvision finally solved the green laser issue?

Well, last year-ish [arstechnica.com] was when researchers finally made a true green laser diode; hopefully by now that means they've increased the efficiency so that it's actually practical.

Re:About freakin time

[Cederic]

I must be weird. I have a speedometer and other instruments on the dash in front of me. Above those is the windscreen, revealing the world around me.

I like a built-in satnav because it's out of the way, it isn't blocking key information sources and I can ignore it easily.

That said, my current car's satnav is built into the top of the dash, which is indeed more sensible than putting it down with the aircon controls.

(The other advantage of built-in satnav is that you also tend to get better electronics with it - it's all fluff, but it makes owning a car nicer. E.g. BMW 1 series with satnav has a decent i-drive; BMW 1 series without satnav has horrible UI)