HUD Research: AR-HUD staged a "technological competition", who will win the mass production crown?-EEWORLD

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Zuosi Auto R&D released the "2023 Automotive HUD Industry Research Report".

The vehicle head-up display system (Head Up Display, or HUD), also called the head-up display system, uses optical principles to display vehicle speed, navigation, ADAS and other information in real time in front of the vehicle. Its main functions are: first, to avoid the driver lowering his head and diverting his attention. etc. bring safety risks; the second is to improve the smart cockpit experience, make navigation more intelligent, and display vehicle status more abundantly and conveniently.

According to different display screens, HUD can be divided into three types: C-HUD (Combiner HUD), W-HUD (Windshield HUD), and AR-HUD (Augmented Reality HUD). Among them, AR-HUD (enhanced head-up display) is the successor The third generation HUD product after C-HUD and W-HUD.

01. Passenger car HUD assembly is accelerating

According to statistics from Zuosi Auto Research, the number of passenger cars equipped with HUD in the Chinese market (excluding import and export) from January to June 2023 was 879,000, a year-on-year increase of 45.6%; the penetration rate was 9.5%, a year-on-year increase of 2.7 percentage points . Among them, in the second quarter of 2023, there were 504,000 passenger cars equipped with HUD, a year-on-year increase of 65%; the penetration rate was 9.7%, a year-on-year increase of 3.5 percentage points.

In the "2023Q2 HUD Data and Company Tracking Analysis Report", Zuosi Auto Research predicts that the HUD assembly volume of China's passenger car market will reach 464,000 units in the second quarter of 2023. According to actual data statistics, the HUD assembly volume of China's passenger cars in the second quarter will be 464,000 units. 504,000, higher than expected. The HUD board is accelerating.

HUD assembly volume and year-on-year growth of new passenger cars in China in each quarter from 2021 to 2023

Source: Zuosi Automobile Research Database

Among them, there will be more than 100,000 domestic passenger cars equipped with AR-HUD in 2022, an increase of 195.4% compared with 2021; from January to June 2023, there will be 63,500 vehicles, an increase of 81.4% year-on-year, and the annual total is expected to double.

OEM AR-HUD on-board schedule

Source: Zuosi Auto Research's "2023 Automotive HUD Industry Research Report"

02. Light source technologies are diverse, and TFT and DLP are the first to enter large-scale mass production.

AR-HUD can be divided into four technologies according to imaging methods: TFT, DLP , LCoS, and LBS based on MEMS technology. Which technology is more suitable for large-scale applications has not yet been determined.

TFT technology is mature and has cost advantages. It is the current mainstream solution and has been used in more than ten models including Volkswagen, Audi, Geely, Changan, Great Wall, and Hongqi. Among them, many models use 3.1-inch TFT technology, with a field of view (FOV) of approximately 8°×3°. In order to make the picture better (such as FOV 10° × 4°, resolution 80pix/° or above), the LCD size must even be 4.1 inches, but the problem of sunlight intrusion needs to be effectively solved.

In June 2023, Jiangcheng took the lead in launching a new generation of exclusive TFT technology AR-HUD solution. The LCD size is about 3.6 inches, and the field of view (FOV) breaks through the technical bottleneck of the previous TFT solution, up to 12°x5°; it is a This AR-HUD is highly cost-effective—that is, it has excellent product performance, convenient vehicle layout, and a more affordable product cost.

该方案采用疆程全定制专用TFT和独创背光耦合透镜系统，结合疆程独创的低动态畸变光学仿真软件，实现了成像效果的显著提升，以10°x4°为例，有效可视像素较3.1英寸方案提升50%以上。同时，该方案也有效解决了阳光倒灌问题，具有体积小、参数性能好、成本低、性价比高等优势。

DLP has high brightness, is also suitable for large field of view AR-HUD, and can cope with the problem of sunlight intrusion. The disadvantage is that it is subject to TI patent restrictions, high cost and large size. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is equipped with Nippon Seiki's DLP AR-HUD, which has a volume of more than 25 liters. Domestic models that adopt DLP technology solutions include GAC Trumpchi GS8, Beijing Cube, Nezha S, etc.

Among them, GAC Trumpchi GS8 is the first AR-HUD model equipped with DLP technology in China, and the solution provider is Huayang Multimedia. This solution uses TI DLP3030 technology, with an FOV of up to 10°×4°, a VID of up to 8m, and a screen size of 60 inches. The AR-HUD equipped with BAIC Rubik's Cube is also 60 inches, and the solution provider is Jiangcheng. Compared with TFT technology, DLP has better display effects, but is larger in size.

At the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, TI launched the latest DLP technology for AR-HUD: DLP4620S-Q1. Compared with the previous generation DLP5530, it has a larger field of view (12.8°×4°) and higher resolution (100 pix/ °), higher brightness (15,000cd/㎡); the PGU volume is only 0.3L, which is about 10%-15% smaller than similar products, and the overall cost is expected to be reduced by more than 15% compared to the previous generation. In addition, next-generation display technologies such as optical waveguides , holographic optical elements (HOEs) and different thin-film technologies are supported.

Source: TI

Based on DLP4620, Goertek quickly laid out its layout and took the lead in launching a new generation of automotive AR-HUD PGU module PGU4620 in February 2023, and iterated to Gen2 in July. Compared with the first generation, PGU4620 Gen2 adds a multi-color temperature adjustable function, and the brightness is increased by 80% to 200lm; combined with the latest DLPC technology, it can achieve a high refresh rate of 120Hz and a high contrast ratio of 1800:1, making the display of the entire AR-HUD The effect is better.

Source: Goertek

LCoS can meet the needs of high resolution, large field of view, and small size, but technology development is difficult. Currently, Huawei, Jiangcheng, Yishu Technology, etc. are the main promoters of this solution. In September 2022, Huawei's independently developed LCoS AR-HUD was first used on Feifan R7.

At the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, Huawei once again upgraded its LCoS technology and launched the HUAWEI xHUD AR-HUD, which uses car-grade LCoS (micron-level pixel unit, 2K-level resolution) and three-color LED light source (eye brightness 12000nits, color gamut NTSC>85% ), short-focus lens (clearer image, distortion <2%), polarizing component (90% light energy utilization, contrast ratio 1200:1), can achieve the largest format in mass production (70 inches at 7.5 meters, 96 inches at 10 meters) ) and highest resolution (1920x730 pixels). This product will be installed on the Wenjie M9 in 2023, and will be applied to more models in the future.

Source: Huawei

In contrast, LBS is still in the research and development stage, but PGUs have been launched, such as Longma Puxin’s LM-PGU-1000 and Ruisi Huachuang’s micro laser full-color high-definition display module Opticalcore®.

It is foreseeable that in the next 2-3 years, TFT will still be the mainstream solution for mass production; DLP may rapidly increase in volume in the next 5 years and firmly occupy the high-end market; LCoS technology will continue to iterate, and it is expected that "latecomers will catch up"; LBS technology may 1 -Achieve mass production and launch within 2 years.

03. Display technology continues to evolve, and mass production of dual/multi-focal solutions is imminent.

So far, most of the AR-HUD products that have been mass-produced in China are single-focal 2D displays. In order to improve the display effect, models such as Volkswagen and Audi adopt bifocal 3D display solutions. Among them, the upper area displays navigation and other information, with a VID of up to 10 meters, and the lower area displays information such as vehicle speed and vehicle status, with a VID of about 3m.

Audi’s bifocal AR-HUD product based on TFT technology

Domestic Huayang Multimedia, Zejing Electronics, Yili Electronics, Future Black Technology, etc. have also developed bifocal AR-HUD mass production solutions. Among them, Huayang's dual-focal AR-HUD adopts a single-optical machine and dual-optical path solution and is built based on DLP 5530. The short-range is 2 meters and the field of view is 12°×1°; the long-range can reach 10 meters and the field of view is 10 meters. It is 12°×3°. The solution has been approved and is about to be mass-produced.

Source: Huayang Multimedia; Zuosi Auto Research's "2023 Automotive HUD Industry Research Report"

Zejing Electronics' bifocal AR-HUD is also equipped with the DLP 5530 solution and adopts self-developed AR Cyber software system technology. It can adapt to optical systems of different specifications, different data sources, and different application scenarios to achieve a visual effect of virtual and real integration. . This product has received orders and is planned to be mass-produced in 2023.

Jiangcheng's bifocal AR-HUD solution was first completed in 2017, achieving a car-mounted AR-HUD solution with a distance of 7.5m and a near distance of 2.2m, and the volume was controlled below 10L. It was the earliest dual-focal solution in China at that time. ; However, due to the fact that AR-HUD was not yet popular in China at that time, Jiangcheng began to provide dual-focal mass production solutions based on the needs of car manufacturers in the past two years.

In addition to bifocal planes, some companies have begun to explore multi-focal plane (more than 2) display technology. The light field AR-HUD under development by Black Technology in the future has multi-focal optical imaging capabilities and is planned to be mass-produced in 2024; the spatial light field AR-HUD under development can achieve a continuous zoom effect and combine real objects at different locations with the HUD Virtual images merge visually.

Evolution of HUD display technology