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Panasonic Automotive Unveils Driveable AR HUD 2.0 with Patented Eye-Tracking-System at CES 2022

January 4, 2022

LAS VEGAS — Today at CES 2022 Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, a tier one automotive supplier, unveiled their Augmented Reality HUD (AR HUD) 2.0, the first to include a new patented eye tracking system (ETS) enhancing the AR experience.

Powered by SkipGen2 – Enhanced with Eye Tracking

Powered by Panasonic’s SkipGen2, its eCockpit infotainment controller, AR HUD 2.0 with patented ETS leverages Panasonic’s legacy of advanced optics. This proprietary innovation is enabled by an IR camera packaged with the AR HUD projector and optics, eliminating the need for a standalone driver-facing camera. ETS recognizes the driver’s line of sight and optimizes the AR imagery for clarity and accuracy creating a more intuitive and pleasant experience.

“The Panasonic AR HUD 2.0 continues the trend of up-integration of display domains, such as Cluster and HUD, into the central infotainment compute module,” said Andrew Poliak, CTO, Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America. “By integrating our proprietary eye tracking technology into the AR HUD we can improve fidelity of images in the driver’s field of view by knowing precisely where the driver is looking then matching and focusing the AR images to the real world much more precisely.”

Connecting Driver to Environment More Precisely

Specifically, the ETS technology identifies the individual driver’s height and head movement behind the wheel and dynamically adjusts and compensates the images in the “eyebox.” Drivers are constantly shifting their head and changing their line of sight, but with parallax alignment and dynamic autofocus working together, drivers will only see accurately positioned, crisp, high-resolution overlays and icons. The driver’s experience is powered by AI navigation software which intelligently matches the changing environment with AR overlays and icons providing an intuitive awareness of the situation and surrounding environment.

Panasonic AR HUD 2.5D features include:

  • AI powered navigation software with 3D AR overlays, icons, and mapping
  • DLP for crisp, high resolution images and icons
  • Simulated 3D using a tilted, dual image plane providing 3D at the cost of 2D

Patented, newly updated eye tracking (ETS) enables:

  • Automatic driver height adjustment
  • Parallax compensation (to properly align AR icons in the optical path)
  • Dynamic auto focus (to account for shifting driver eyebox positioning)
  • Driver monitoring capability (to identify and monitor the driver’s state)

More Intuitive Journey: Driver Monitoring

Placing the IR camera within the AR HUD eliminates the need to package a standalone driver monitoring camera and supports driver identification and other driver monitoring features like detecting drowsiness, impairment, and distraction.  

For more information about Panasonic’s AR HUD 2.0, or to schedule a live customer demonstration, visit https://na.panasonic.com/ces

About Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America
Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America is a division company of Panasonic Corporation of North America and is a leading global supplier of automotive infotainment and connectivity system solutions.  Panasonic Automotive is head quartered in Peachtree City, Georgia, with sales, marketing and engineering operations in Farmington Hills, Mich. For more information on Panasonic Automotive, please visit: https://na.panasonic.com/us/automotive-solutions 

About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is committed to creating a better life and a better world by enabling its business-to-business customers through innovations in Sustainable Energy, Immersive Entertainment, Integrated Supply Chains and Mobility Solutions. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation. One of Interbrand's Top 100 Best Global Brands of 2021, Panasonic is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. Learn more about Panasonic's ideas and innovations at https://na.panasonic.com/us/

Media Contact:
Maria Rohrer
Panasonic Automotive                        
maria.rohrer@us.panasonic.com

Betsy Sagges
Panasonic Corporation of North America
Betsy.Sagges@us.panasonic.com