First Steps towards a View Management Concept for Large-sized Head-up Displays with Continuous Depth

Abstract

Windshield displays (WSDs) are the big siblings of Head-up displays (HUDs). They are assumed to cover the entire windshield and to allow displaying content at continuous depth, eventually. This creates a large and unstructured 3D space for information display -- raising the question what to display where. To address this question, we developed a view management concept for WSDs in left hand drive cars which proposes zones and areas for specific information. As driving is a safety-critical task, we designed the initial concept with the driver's perceptual abilities in mind. Subsequently, we gathered insights into the driver's needs and desires from a formative study. We asked participants where they would place different types of information after inspiring their imagination by a 3D driving scene and WSD information on a Google Cardboard. The improved concept respects both the drivers' needs and desires and their perceptual abilities and can serve as a basis for view management concepts of future WSD.