Keeping eyes on the road ahead

Driving distractions are at an all-time high. In the UK, distraction caused collisions that took 458 lives in 2022. This figure is higher than at any point in the past decade. In the USA, that number exceeds 3,000 fatalities a year.

As vehicles become more connected and integrated with our digital lives, there can be many more distractions in the cabin. As well as communication with other occupants, the driver’s attention can be diverted by navigation prompts, traffic and weather updates, vehicle alerts, point of interest suggestions, meeting notifications, incoming messages and calls. Moreover, as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) increase, this can put additional demand on the cognitive capacity of the driver as they become accustomed to the new technology.

While the sharing of such information is generally considered to be helpful for the driver, this combination of data and alerts has the potential to distract and pull attention from their important key task – driving.

Determined to offer best-in-class intelligent cockpit solutions, our team at HARMAN set about developing a next-generation, optimised windscreen display and cluster replacement that helps minimise distraction and supports the driver in maintaining focus – delivering the right information at the right time, in the right place.

The result is HARMAN Ready Vision QVUE. Its approach uses 12-inch Samsung displays in the dashboard that reflect critical driving information onto the black ceramic paint across the lower section of the windscreen. Using plane projection, it appears as if the data is straight in front of the driver rather than out ahead on the street.

Positioning the information here puts it directly in the driver’s line of sight so they do not need to look down. Glancing at a QVUE navigation alert, for example, may take between 0.5 and one second compared to between one and two seconds for a central infotainment screen, or even two and five seconds for a third-party smart device.

Powered by Samsung Neo QLED, it offers accurate, readable visuals in all light conditions and true black appearance thanks to 5,000 nits of vivid illumination with a 254,000:1 contrast ratio, high colour gamut, and low halo effect.

The data placement, which is in a typically redundant area, also has multiple benefits for OEMs. It saves space as QVUE only has a packaging volume of less than 1.5 litres, doesn’t impact OEM IP structures, and frees up surface space for other in-cabin features. A single cluster replacement can be specified, or OEMs can run pillar-to-pillar coverage for an ultrawide field of view, which combines up to three displays.

To further aid drivers, advanced directional audio alerts are integrated; developed thanks to HARMAN’s long history of audio excellence. This intuitive support can enhance situation awareness and direction detection accuracy while reducing reaction time to alerts such as emergency vehicle detection, helping reduce driver stresses.

HARMAN Ready Vision QVUE has undergone testing and development to be ready to deploy in OEM vehicles in as little as six months. While it can be a standalone product, it is part of a much broader advancement of the in-cabin experience. The orchestration of information distributed in the cabin to ensure it is intuitive and supportive is a key area of development for the industry, with the aim of keeping eyes on the road ahead.  

For example, when paired with HARMAN Ready Care, which can detect if a driver is experiencing high cognitive load through vital signs, QVUE’s intelligent software can switch up the human machine interface (HMI) and user experience (UX) to meet the driver’s current capability, paring back data to essential points if the driver is stressed, tired or distracted, and helping bring attention back to the road ahead.

Sharing information in the right place at the right time is critical for keeping eyes and mind on the road. We’re looking ahead to the vehicle cabin having contextual understanding and offering intelligent personalisation to deliver user experiences that are incredibly supportive, powerful and safe.