Hyundai Mobis Company said it had made a significant investment in a leading UK based technology company, as it looks to expand its range of next generation mobility technology.
The South Korean parts manufacturer said it was investing in Envisics, a global leader in augmented reality head up display (AR HUD) technology with the aim of applying the technology to its autonomous driving systems and its expanding suite of connected services, including infotainment.
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Hyundai Mobis in a statement said Envisics was a leading holographic technology company founded in 2010 by Jamieson Christmas from the University of Cambridge. It acknowledged Envisics as a global leader in the field of AR HUD and the only company with experience in mass producing HUDs based on dynamic holography.
Hyundai Mobis said it planned to jointly develop an AR HUD display system with Enviscis to be fitted to a mass produced autonomous vehicle model by 2025.
It suggested "AR HUD is a next generation safety convenience feature that matches driving information with the road ahead in real time and projects it onto the windshield".
The supplier's executive vice-president Sung Hwan Cho confirmed: "Hyundai Mobis will jointly develop autonomous driving specialised AR HUD with Envisics, targeting mass production by 2025."
Hyundai Mobis has made significant investments in the autonomous driving segment in the last three years and has partnerships with leading global companies such as Velodyne and Motional.
Last year it announced a US$4bn joint venture with Ireland-based Aptiv to develop a self driving platform.
Hyundai Mobis said AR HUD is currently in the initial market creation stage but expects the technology to make significant inroads into the expanding car infotainment segment in the next 10 years.
It added "according to multiple global market research companies, the HUD market is expected to grow by at least 12% on average every year by 2025, with AR HUD in particular expected to grow from the market size of 1m units in 2025 to 12m by 2030".
Hyundai Mobis said AR HUD can be implemented in two ways: using either geometrical optics or digital holography. Envisics' digital holographic technology uses the most advanced hologram implementation methods providing a software defined broad field of view without the need for additional optical devices. This approach significantly reduces the volume and is therefore more optimised for next generation AR HUD.
