Japanese automotive electronics manufacturer JVC Kenwood announced the development of a head-up display (HUD) that uses a MEMS/Laser projector to display navigation and driver information directly on the car’s windshield in front of the driver. The HUD is connected to a conventional car navigation system, with monitor, and minimizes the driver’s need to look away from the road. A number of luxury car makers currently offer HUD systems of various types, but the cars and HUDs are currently too expensive for mass distribution. JVC Kenwood plans to achieve a lower price price point, thus expanding the size of the market. By 2015, the market for HUD systems is expected to grow to approximately 1 million units worldwide, about 2.5 times its current size.

JVC Kenwood’s announcement is the latest event in the Pico Embedded Fixed projector market trend PMA’s extensive projector market analysis has been tracking since Pioneer announced their MicroVison PicoP-based HUD in early 2010.

JVC Kenwood