Heads up display

My 2017 Prius has HUD and I find it to be a Great safty feature. my eye almost never leave the road.

I don't have any issue with the center display but I have had two cars with HUD for alerts and information, and it has always been useful. In addition to the side-view mirror/displays, I suspect that the rear view mirror (especially on the full solar) will be a digital display. And that will likely be in the top view of the window, so it would potentially be simple to have a graphical overlay to display important info and alerts on the rear view display with little additional cost.

HUD Over the centre of the steering wheel with the ability to adjust the functions displayed and turn on/off/dim is a terrific option and need not be expensive-I'd go for it in a minute!

My advice, keep it simple. A heads up display is just additional "stuff". There is a myth that looking a few degrees to your right to see your speed is somehow more dangerous than looking down. Regarding heads up displays, yes you are still looking in the same direction but your focal point changes, which I would argue has the same effect and looking down or to your right. Keep in mind you don't hear people complaining about looking at their right rear view mirror.

Just wanted to give my Vote for a simple Heads-up display as well. My wife's 2021 Nissan Rogue has a Heads-up display with speed, traffic sign recognition information (posted speed signs seen by the car) and will show arrows for turn-by-turn directions if you use the built-in navigation. It is a great feature and was one of the convincing arguments for getting the Vehicle. It is very visible in bright sunlight as well as at night. (Sorry the photo is just from the driver's seat while the car is

parked)

Ya I can adapt too. In over 40 years of driving, my current car is my first with a digital speedo. There's a maximum of only about 4 seconds of peak acceleration when my speed's rate of change can be too fast for a digital gauge. During that time I'm looking at the road because I'm rapidly passing through 50mph. For the following hours a very quick glance tells me my exact speed easier than an analog gauge.

The good news is that a modern car's instrument screen can just as easily show EITHER analog, digital, or both, so that would appear to be the ideal solution.

I drove Honda S2000 as a commuter for 7 years, and it had a digital speedo. I quickly got used to it, along with it's other oddities of the dash. I can adapt to whatever comes out in the Aptera. I've rented Minis in the UK, which had the display in the center, and the steering wheel on the right. Not a big deal.

I miss the analog style feedback for the speedometer that's lacking in my Volt, but I can cope. It's just easier to judge rate of change vs updating numbers on a digital display.

I've never had a HUD, & some drivers dislike it, so it should have an off function.

Analog gauges ARE "easier to read" for ball-park estimates at a glance IF you're familiar with the car: After being spoiled by my nice big digital speedo, it took me a few glances down to read the relatively small digits on my friend's analog speedo.

After getting accustomed to even the short 100-mile city range of my 500e, I never look at it's distance gauge or state of charge while driving, & only glance at the power in/out when I'm hyper-miling, which for daily use I'd probably never bother with in an Aptera, with 250% of my EV's efficiency, & 625% of the US-avg daily range. Now for road trips, that other stuff might be nice.

A HUD is cool, but I’d actually prefer a standard dashboard display, like we’ve had for decades . I don’t need extra things in my line of site distracting me while driving. For me, a simple glance down to get my info is better. A simple display with speed, distance, state of charge, power in and power out would be great and could even be analog, which is easier to read. Allow the center console to be turned off, so its not blasting you in the face, and it can contain the infotainment system and other things the folks at Aptera intended by having it turn on when touched, otherwise leaving the backlight off.

I built two electric vehicles in the early 2000s, including a solar powered pickup truck which in place of a carpenters rack, it had a 1.1 KW solar array, providing 15 miles of driving per day in Maine, so I’ve been a believer in solar powered transportation for a little over 20 years. I very much believe in what Aptera is doing, offer them assistance if they want it, and have ordered a 3 motor, 600 mile, fully solar, off-road vehicle from them.

You can experiment with HUD by using your phone. There are many apps in the store(s) that will function as a HUD by mirror imaging the display. Then you just put it on your dash. Builtin photocell automatically controls light intensity.

My Prius Prime had it. My Tesla Model 3 does not. I miss it.

Which unit do you have?

I do like my HUD. Has speed limit, speed, cruise control set speed, and navigation display when approaching turns - very helpful in complicated freeway intersections. As far as pollarization, rotating the display slightly from horizontal makes it visible, as does tilting my head a few degrees.

@Len "So how is the display in your vehicle in the sun?"

The display is fine in all lighting conditions. Sunlight here in Aus is every bit as bright as in your Southern states and I have never had a problem with it in that respect. It's positioned low down on the screen at a point where you would normally be looking at the road surface so it's not like you're trying to see it with a bright background.

That is the reason I hope for open data bus architecture. I would like to see Aptera concentrate on developing and delivering the vehicles, leave things like the various types of displays to 3rd parties - consider it yet another way to 'customize' your Aptera.

Nice

I rarely drive at night and live in a state that has well over 300 bright sunny days.. wearing my polarized sunglasses. So how is the display in your vehicle in the sun?

”If it is offered” it will be interesting how it would be projected onto Aptera’s sloped solar reflective windshield glass . And will the adjacent dash solar array finish add more reflection????

I have a HUD in my car and so does my wife. We wouldn't be without it. Helps keep your eyes on the road. I find it distracting if I have to keep glancing sideways for info, especially for navigation.

Design is dead simple. The display is a module buried vertically in the dash so that it reflects off the inside of the windscreen with no special treatment on the glass. Brightness is controlled by a photoelectric cell facing forwards.

I would like to see them continue the Tesla-esque central display, HOWEVER make their internal data bus open, allowing 3rd parties to create a 'driver's information pod' that you could add if you wanted (likely communicating via bluetooth or other wireless methods), allowing the ability to display any/all of the information normally seen on the central display. I could imagine 3rd parties offering all kinds of different displays, up to and including HUD.

I'm a bit conservative and cautious about heads up displays, etc. Too much data can be distracting from the primary task of driving the vehicle. I think safety systems are already saving drivers from inattention, etc. Maybe it leaves some with a false sense of security and bails them out when they're not paying attention, until the time is doesn't. Not quite autonomous driving occasionally causes problems now.

Chris drives an Tesla so I am sure he tried to capture good design?!

Having driven the Model 3, the central info isn’t as bothersome as people think. The Model 3 screen puts the speed at the same height as a display behind the wheel, just off to the side a bit. It’s just as easy to glance over as it is to glance down in my Bolt. Given how much the Aptera borrows from the 3, I expect it to be the same.

Autopilot, though, is a different story (you end up watching the screen instead of the road), for both the 3 and Model S.

That photo makes me think they could use the side mirror screens to display the HUD info you like, but I am SO SICK of this type of thread on Model 3 forums! I will really regret it if this discussion rages on now that I am following Aptera

I once used a small HUD in conjunction with a navigation app on my cell phone. It consisted of a cradle for the phone and a lightly silvered clear plastic panel that was adjustable as to the angle. The app inverted and reversed the image so as to reflect upon the clear panel correctly. The net result was a transparent surface with the navigation images reflected on it. It was clear to read in bright sun but was of course better under lower light conditions. For only $30 or so it did a reasonably good job. I would imagine Aptera could do a much better version and have the image reflected on the windshield. Perhaps with a lower powered laser to project the image.

Chuck, Interesting . I have never been in a vehicle with this feature/ gave this feature much attention.

Nor was it offered in my vehicles...So forgive my curiosity, but...

Is it usable day and night and not impact by the variables like:

Day

Sun glare

While driver is wearing polarized sunglasses or yellow lens driving sunglasses, etc

While transitioning from sun to shade ( in and out of tunnels,etc)

Night

Headlight glare

Does it typically have settings for adjusting projected visibility?

Is it projected on the glass or like a hologram?

Can settings be timed projection of information? Or is it full time with option to switch off?

Does the vehicle also have full conventional displays of another driver does not like the overhead display?

Can information size be adjusted?

Any other factors that impact?

I understand you can only speak about a system/vehicle you may have /had.. and maybe you have improvements/ a wish list for that system

I guess one can adapt to this safety technology and if it is not for all, it can be switched off. I finally adjusted to my back up video camera, (after using mirrors for decades) but don’t have to use it

Features for the Aptera will be a balancing act with safety, weight, cost, efficiency...

Thank you, in advance, if you care to share your experiences.