Holographic Projector Puts Heads-Up Displays on Your Car's Side View Mirrors

Compact holographic projection displays info through
a two-way wing mirror for drivers.

Soon the Dark Knight and other wealthy folk may not represent
the only people tearing around with a holographic heads-up
display (HUD) for their rides. A new prototype unveiled today
is small enough to fit inside a rear-view or wing mirror and
display car speed or distance between vehicles in real time.

This holographic projection device has a far smaller size
than current car HUD systems, which require large
liquid-crystal arrays and optics. By contrast, the device
developed by Light Blue Optics uses constructive and
destructive interference of light to compose its holographic
images.

The company designed its prototype to project an image
through a two-way mirror, so that information appears
superimposed over the reflected road view. The device went on
display at the Society for Information Display's Vehicles and
Photons 2009 symposium held in Dearborn, Michigan.

Such a device could improve driving safety by allowing
drivers to get critical information without having to look
away from the road. Light Blue Optics also says that their
technology works just as well on forward displays, such as
a car windshield. Just don't expect to drive cars with the
devices for at least several more years.