Solution positions the DMS camera beneath the display, resolving a key integration challenge for modern cockpit designs.

Smart Eye and Visteon have announced a jointly developed LCD instrument cluster with integrated Driver Monitoring, to be showcased at JSAE 2026 in Yokohama. The solution allows OEMs to place the Driver Monitoring camera directly in front of the driver while ‘maintaining display quality and instrument cluster aesthetics’.

Integrating a camera behind an LCD display has been a persistent challenge for OEMs: LCD modules have low transmission for near-infrared light and strongly obscure DMS image quality. The joint solution addresses this by positioning the camera behind the display and designing display optical stack with good transmission and low diffusion, preserving both imaging performance and visual consistency.

The collaboration combines Smart Eye's Driver Monitoring software, deployed across more than four million production vehicles, with Visteon's expertise in cockpit electronics and display integration.

"LCD instrument clusters introduce a difficult balance for Driver Monitoring systems," said Detlef Wilke, Vice President Innovation & Strategic Partnerships at Smart Eye. "Smart Eye's system-level expertise across the full range of Under-Display Camera (UDC) challenges, combined with Visteon's engagement, has enabled us to jointly develop UDC solutions that are ready for SOP today. This collaboration shows how those challenges can be addressed within a single integrated system while continuing to push the technology forward."

"Maintaining display uniformity while enabling reliable Driver Monitoring imaging required rethinking how the camera integrates with the cluster architecture," said Futoshi Matsumoto, Global Vice President, Display Product Line at Visteon. "It changes how OEMs can approach instrument cluster design when Driver Monitoring no longer has to be treated as a separate hardware element."