NEWS
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Display challenges under control
Las Vegas was a fitting venue for CES, earlier this year, with a
futuristic view of LCDs in motor cars. Models on show sported
displays fitted into door pockets, wheel wells and even, passenger
windows (facing outwards!). In reality, navigation, entertainment
and driver information systems are driving the proliferation of LCDs in
cars. Leading the pack are the configurable, windows-style,
central console displays and rear seat infotainment centres.
Miniature LCDs are appearing on rear-view mirrors, sometimes on
slide-out consoles, linked to on-board cameras to aid reversing
manoeuvres.
The vehicle presents some specific technical and mechanical challenges for displays, including contrast ratio to cope with bright sunlight and dimming for night driving, wide viewing angle, and ruggedness to meet the extended temperature range. From an electronics perspective, the challenge is handling an increasing volume and variety of information, that is updated constantly. Techniques include multiple windows that can be resized and shifted, layers and transparency options, to create fully configurable instrument clusters. All this is generating healthy competition in the components sector, especially for video and graphics display controllers. In demand, are those that support multiple application standards, digital and analogue formats, and that can perform at low power (and therefore low temperature) without draining the main CPU.
Long term research projects continue to investigate the best methods of presenting such varied data, such that safety warnings are not overlooked and screens do not become a driver distraction. Configurable displays according to conditions, and innovative and versatile man-machine interfaces are two key elements.
The vehicle presents some specific technical and mechanical challenges for displays, including contrast ratio to cope with bright sunlight and dimming for night driving, wide viewing angle, and ruggedness to meet the extended temperature range. From an electronics perspective, the challenge is handling an increasing volume and variety of information, that is updated constantly. Techniques include multiple windows that can be resized and shifted, layers and transparency options, to create fully configurable instrument clusters. All this is generating healthy competition in the components sector, especially for video and graphics display controllers. In demand, are those that support multiple application standards, digital and analogue formats, and that can perform at low power (and therefore low temperature) without draining the main CPU.
Long term research projects continue to investigate the best methods of presenting such varied data, such that safety warnings are not overlooked and screens do not become a driver distraction. Configurable displays according to conditions, and innovative and versatile man-machine interfaces are two key elements.
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