Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of
the original issued by BMW headquarters in
Germany. No adaptations have been made to cater
for the UK market.
Munich. Low-flying over hilly terrain at a speed of
almost 800 kilometres per hour in the cockpit of a Eurofighter jet is
a challenge to even the most hardened of military pilots. “When
you’re flying at tree-top height at around 220 metres a second,
only extremely accurate head-up display technology is able to provide
the necessary ease of mind,” comments Wing Commander Robert
Hierl, test pilot at the Technical and Airworthiness Centre for Aircraft.
By means of a front panel projector, all flight-relevant data
supplied by the flight management system as well as information and
signals crucial to a mission are displayed on a second, vertically
positioned panel located in the cockpit. In order to prevent the pilot
from being distracted, all information is displayed in virtual form at
eye level within the direct field of vision, thus guaranteeing the
highest degree of concentration, supremacy and safety for both the
pilot and the machine.
BMW was the first European car builder to adapt head-up display
technology – a system initially deployed in aviation and
constantly further developed over several decades – for use in
volume-production vehicles. Since January 2004, this innovative
driver assistance system has been an integral part of BMW
ConnectedDrive offered for the BMW 5 Series. Consistently further
developed and optimised, it is now a full-colour head-up display and
optionally available for almost all series.
In terms of graphic representation, functionality and flexibility,
the unique new Head-Up Display feature makes a significant
contribution towards active safety by displaying driver-relevant
information in high-quality resolution within the driver’s
direct field of vision, so that he or she does not have to take their
eyes off the road. A crucial gain in safety as researchers know:
A normal driver takes a whole second to read the speed indicator in
the instrument panel or to glance at the navigation device. Whilst the
driver is distracted, that is without his or her eyes on the road, the
vehicle covers a distance of around 14 metres when travelling in urban
areas at a speed of 50 km/h – virtually a “blind flight”.
With Head-Up Display, the time required by the driver to assimilate
information is reduced by more than a half, the system making a
decisive contribution towards concentrated and focused driving. The
virtual image projected onto the windscreen is perceived as
“hovering“ at eye level above the bonnet and is visible
only to the driver. Moreover, this form of display is less tiring, as
the eye does not have to constantly change between close-range and
remote vision. Also, the brightness of the image adjusts
perfectly to the surroundings, so that the eye does not have to
readapt each time.
The reproduction of data is effected by means of an intense light
source, which is located inside the instrument panel and shines
through a translucent TFT (Thin Film Transistor) display, the image
being transferred to the windscreen via specially shaped
mirrors. Owing to the convex shape and the physical properties
of glass, using the windscreen as a reflector is an extremely complex
process. In a windscreen, the light path is normally refracted,
resulting in double images.
In the case of the Eurofighter, this problem is solved by means of an
additional panel located directly within the pilot’s field of
vision. BMW tackles this physical phenomenon with the aid of a
wafer-thin foil, which is integrated into the windscreen, ensuring the
superimposition of the projected images and, as a result, flawless,
undistorted representation. Full-colour Head-Up Display offers the
driver a tremendous increase in reading comfort. The complete colour
spectrum facilitates a realistic and thus more intuitive display of
images and symbols. These speak for themselves, are perceived
even faster and do not have to be decoded or interpreted. Even
Eurofighter test pilot Robert Hierl is highly impressed: “Our
monochrome head-up display technology is unable to offer such a
brilliant display quality.”
