New Combiner head-up display from Bosch.

Bosch has introduced a new Combiner Head-up display for BMW and Mini integrated into the instrument panel to provide information directly in the driver’s field of vision, presenting detailed information like the current speed, navigation recommendations and warnings appear as if suspended in midair in front of the vehicle.

With head-up displays increasingly finding their way into more compact car models, Bosch has developed a combiner head-up display offering outstanding display quality and precision that the BMW Group has chosen to fit to a variety of its vehicles. This combiner system, which is initially available for the new MINI Hatch, can be fully integrated into the instrument panel.

Manfred Baden, President of the Car Multimedia division at Bosch explains: "The driver does not need to constantly switch between looking at the instrument panel and looking at what is happening on the road," He also mentioned that the new head-up display reduce the burden on the driver which makes driving even safer and more comfortable.

The new system belongs to the so-called "combiner" category of head-up displays. The image they generate is combined with the scenery outside the vehicle in such a way that makes them appear to merge with one another at a distance of around two meters in front of the vehicle. The system projects the information onto a small special plastic screen placed before the windshield instead of directly on it and can be fitted to various types of vehicle without any major technical modifications. The displayed information is invisible to the front passenger.

The displayed information remains sharp and distortion-free even when the driver’s head moves which is achieved through the sophisticated optical integration of all elements of the system. One of the technical highlights is the plastic "combiner" screen, which has an Aspheric surface. The new head-up display is a part of a self-contained module that can be fully integrated into the instrument panel. The plastic "combiner" screen is driven by a variable-speed electric motor to extend it out of the box when needed. When the system is switched off, the screen fully retracts into the box.

With a resolution of 480 by 240 pixels provided by a full-color LCD, it is lit by a single light emitting diode with a high light intensity. The light signal bounces via folding mirrors to the display unit, whose key component is the "combiner" screen. These projects the image into the so-called "eye box", the region in which the driver’s eyes are situated. The angle of the screen can also be changed to suit the driver’s height, and the brightness of the displayed information is adjustable by way of sensors or a dimmer wheel.