Evaluating Head-Up Displays across Windshield Locations

Full windshield displays (WSDs) have the potential to present imagery across the windshield. Current knowledge on display location has not investigated translucent displays at high eccentricities from the driver’s forward view. A simulator study (n=26) was conducted aiming to, (a) investigate the effects of Head-Up Display (HUD) location across the entire windshield on driving performance, and (b) better understand how the visual demand for a complex HUD imagery differs from that for a Head-Down Display (HDD). Lane-keeping was poorer when HUD imagery was furthest from the driver (and for the HDD compared to the HUD). Equally, counts of “unacceptable” driving behaviour were greater for displays furthest from the driver’s forward view. Furthermore, drivers preferred HUD imagery that was closer to them. The results indicate that HUD evaluations should account for image location, because of how driver gaze location can impact lateral driving performance.