In the past few years, many high-end car makers have started adding a head-up display (HUD) to their cars. BMW and Mercedes are among such car makers. The HUD projects information related to the car on the windshield so that the driver can galnce it without taking their eyes off the road.
The following image shows the information that some BMW cars project on the windshield of the car.
Model 3 has a beautiful an minimalist interior where the a large display in the center of the dashboard displays all the information that the driver needs. Unlike most other cars, Model 3 does not have a console display on the driver side. This adds to the futuristic feel of the car and I really like it, but I thought it may be useful to add a HUD so that the driver can see some information related to driving on their windshield without taking their eyes off the road to glance at a central console.
So, while sheltered at home during the covid-19 pandemic, I developed SuperHUD to add a HUD to our cars.
I started with a simple HUD and modified the app based on helpful feedbacks that I received on Twitter (@StatsTeslaApp) from the Tesla community (many thanks to all the people who give me helpful suggestions).
The following image shows an example screenshot of the app.
The following video shows the app in action (it corresponds to an earlier version of the app where the layout and the information was somewhat different).
Most of the information shown in the app (projected on the windshield) is self-explanatory. I will go over the ones which may not be obvious at the first glance.
Total Acceleration Gauge
First, let’s discuss the acceleration gauge. This gauge display the magnitude of the acceleration vector of the car. As you know, acceleration is a three dimensional vector (in the X, Y, Z directions). So, the magnitude of the acceleration vector is the total acceleration of the car which includes frontal (in the direction of driving) and lateral (perpendicular to direction of driving).
When you start to drive, the car accelerates and then while your speed is relatively constant, acceleration becomes close to zero (acceleration is the rate of change of your speed). To capture the momentary acceleration (and deceleration), the gauge also shows the maximum acceleration in the past 8 seconds. That is what the orange circle in the above image represents.
2D Acceleration Gauge
Another gauge that is worth describing is the “2D Acceleration” gauge. As we discussed above, acceleration is a 3D vector. Since we are typically not interested in the vertical acceleration (i.e., up and down), it is also useful to know the acceleration value in a two dimensional plane where the car travels.
For example, when you move in a circle, you have lateral acceleration even if your speed is constant. This is why you feel your body is pulled towards the door of the car when you turn at high speed in a circular exit ramp. the following figure shows this concept.
This brings us to the “2D Acceleration” gauge shown in the following image. This gauge shows the trace of your acceleration in two dimensions (frontal and lateral). The red circle in the middle moves in the dirrection of the acceleration. You can examine this trace after the drive if you are interested in knowing about your acceleration profile for that drive.
Mounting the iPhone
I use a rubbery case for my iPhone and I did not feel that I need anything to keep the phone in-place while driving. This is because the surface of the dashboard in Model 3 creates enough friction that prevents the iPhone from moving while driving. But, if you do not use a case for your phone or feel you need more friction, you can use a rubber mat like what is show below (I have not used this product).
When it is very bright outside
The projection on the windshield is fairly visible even during the day. The image below shows an example (many thanks to @JenniCurrent for sharing this image).
However, the projection will not be visible if it is very bright outside. In that case, you can use the app in the non-projection mode as shown below.
Of course, you will need to somehow mount the phone in order to use it as shown in the image above. There are numerous products that allow you to mount your phone in the car, but they more mostly bulky or require something to be glued to the dashboard and I do not like that. I discovered that if you have a strong magnet, you can attach it as shown in the image below to the dashboard in Model 3.
Then you can simply insert one of those metal plates that comes with any magnetic mount and attach your iPhone to the dashboard with no glue.
I hope you found this article useful.