HEAD-UP DISPLAYS

Distraction leads to destruction, as it goes. Well HUDs are here to address that

- SHASHANK SINGH

A head-up display or HUD is a device that can display information in our line of sight so that we can keep our heads up while driving. There’s no looking down to glance at the speed, fuel gauge, or navigation, as all this information and much more will be clearly displayed right onto the windscreen.

HUDs were introduced in fighter aircraft almost half a century ago. Fighter pilots have to negotiate hotly contested battle airspace in war and they cannot afford to take their eyes off enemy targets even for a split second. Thus to ensure that a pilot has information regarding aircraft parameters or weapons selection while not losing visual sight of the target, a method was developed to project all that information right in their light of sight, i.e. either on the windscreen or on a transparent plate in front of the pilot’s eyes.