Press Release
HUD Technology for All Vehicle Classes
Continental Presents Combiner Head-up Display
 HMI innovation for limited installation space and easy integration in whole vehicle
families
 Continental is offering a full range of scalable HUD solutions together with the AR-HUD
and the windshield HUD
 Combiner HUD development benefits from over a decade of experience in HUD series
production
Babenhausen/Germany, July 22, 2014. International automotive supplier Continental is
systematically continuing to extend its range of scalable solutions for head-up displays (HUD) for
the human machine interface (HMI) in cars. The company has developed a particularly compact
example of the HUD principle with the combiner HUD now being launched. It is closely related to
the windshield HUD, but requires less installation space. In the combiner HUD, a small,
transparent plastic disc called the "combiner" is used as a mirror for the information shown, instead
of the windshield itself.
"It is important to us that the ergonomic advantages of HUD technology can have the broadest
possible use within the vehicle. With the combiner HUD, we are offering a system that can be
easily integrated into whole vehicle families, as well as in particularly sporty cars with limited space
in the cockpit," said Helmut Matschi, a member of the Executive Board at Continental and head of
the Interior division.
Compared with the windshield HUD, which Continental has produced in series as a color system
since 2003, the combiner HUD requires only slightly more than half the installation space,
depending on the application. This is possible because the windshield does not need to be
integrated in the optical path. Instead, this path is positioned in the combiner, which is optimized for
its visual properties. Under favorable conditions, a combiner HUD can be just one single mirror in
the interior. This allows the technology to not only be compact but also extremely flat, which makes
it easier to integrate in smaller or sporty vehicles.
.../2
Your contact:
Enno Pigge, phone: +49 6196 87-2515
-2As the "little brother" of the windshield HUD, it provides almost the same ergonomic advantages.
"The combiner head-up display rounds off our HUD portfolio perfectly. While reading select
information, drivers can constantly keep their eyes on the traffic. They no longer have to look back
and forth between the road and their display instrument," said Eelco Spoelder, head of the
Continental Instrumentation & Driver HMI business unit. "Vehicle manufacturers can equip different
vehicle models with a single technical basis."
Increased safety for the driver
Even in the combiner HUD, the full-color instrument display projects over the end of the engine
hood, just below the driver's viewing angle. The optical path of the combiner HUD is marginally
shorter than the windshield application, so the driver's eyes have to adjust slightly more to the
shorter distance – but this is more than offset by the increase in safety.
"The more vehicles are equipped with a HUD, the less drivers have to look away from the road.
The combiner HUD is an equally important member of our product family," said Spoelder. "Each
HUD can reduce potentially dangerous periods of "flying blind" when a driver looks down to their
instruments or operating elements."
Since the combiner HUD is suitable for compact vehicle models, it is helping to bring this new
technology to a wider range of drivers. While the windshield HUD can now be found as an
equipment option in the upper mid-size class vehicles, the combiner HUD is also available for
smaller volume models.
It is no coincidence that the development of a particularly compact solution was not the start of the
HUD range at Continental. "The design and production experience from two generations of
windshield HUD was invaluable for the combiner HUD, with its high level of functional integration,
compact design, and its few components," said Pablo Richter, a HUD technology expert in the
Continental Interior division. Continental is planning the first production run of the combiner HUD
for 2015.
.../3
Your contact:
Enno Pigge, phone: +49 6196 87-2515
-3With sales of around €33.3 billion in 2013, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers
worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis,
instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires, and technical elastomers, Continental
contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in
networked automobile communication. Continental currently employs around 182,000 people in 49 countries.
The Automotive Group with its three divisions Chassis & Safety (sales of approximately €7.3 billion in 2013,
roughly 36,500 employees), Powertrain (sales of approximately €6.3 billion in 2013, roughly 32,400
employees) and Interior (sales of approximately €6.6 billion in 2013, roughly 34,400 employees) achieved
sales of approximately €20 billion in 2013. The Automotive Group is present in more than 170 locations
worldwide. As a partner of the automotive and commercial vehicle industry, it develops and produces
innovative products and systems for a modern automotive future, in which cars provide individual mobility
and driving pleasure consistent with driving safety, environmental responsibility, and cost-efficiency.
The Chassis & Safety division develops and produces electronic and hydraulic brake and chassis control
systems, sensors, driver assistance systems, airbag electronics and sensors, windshield washer systems,
and electronic air suspension systems. Its core competence is the integration of active and passive driving
safety in ContiGuard. The Powertrain division integrates innovative and efficient system solutions for vehicle
powertrains. The comprehensive range of products includes gasoline and diesel injection systems, engine
management and transmission control, including sensors and actuators, as well as fuel supply systems, and
components and systems for hybrid and electric drives. Information management is at the very heart of the
Interior division, which provides a range of products that includes instrument clusters and multifunctional
displays, control units, electronic car-entry systems, tire-monitoring systems, radios, multimedia and
navigation systems, climate control systems, telematics solutions, and cockpits.
Contact for journalists
Enno Pigge
External Communications
Continental / Interior division
Sodener Strasse 9
65824 Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 87-2515
enno.pigge@continental-corporation.com
This press release is available in the following languages: German, English
Links
Online press portal:
www.continental-presse.de
Head-up display online
http://www.continental-head-up-display.com
Online video portal:
http://videoportal.continental-corporation.com/
Online media database: http://www.continental-mediacenter.com
Your contact:
Enno Pigge, phone: +49 6196 87-2515