Continental, in partnership with California-based display technology startup Leia, are creating a 3D car dashboard that can be seen without wearing special glasses. Continental says the dashboard allows drivers to absorb information faster, therefore more safely and with less distraction. The 3D dashboard can present pertinent information, such as projections of GPS directions and a 360-degree parking assist view.
Leia is a startup company in Silicon Valley developing display technology that uses nanostructures to diffract a backlight directionally into a light field and create pseudo-holographic visual effects. The company was founded in 2014 as a spinoff from HP Labs. In July 2019, Leia and Continental announced a long-term partnership to bring lightfield displays and content to the automotive world.
To ensure that the front passenger and occupants in the rear seats can also enjoy the 3D experience, Continental is currently developing a new 3D display based on what they call DLB™: Diffractive Lightfield Backlighting. This makes possible to walk through the image, touch it or interact with it. Streams of barely visible fog become an image carrier and their laminar structure allows to display high resolution images. Leia’s patented way to produce laminar airflow for very long distance from the output makes Leia Display the steadiest mid-air screen on the market.
This natural 3D Display not only saves weight, space and costs, but also opens up an entire world of digital services to all the passengers in a connected car—video conferences and online shopping, augmented-reality games and 3D movies, and more, accessible to passengers at will (and to the driver when the car is in an autonomous driving mode).
