Virtual instruments for motor vehicles are already used on several car models to improve visibility and reduce the size of display devices (by utilizing the optical enlargement technique). The merits of a virtual instrument are gradually recognized. The performance of a conventional virtual instrument allows a display distance of approximately 80 mm and an enlargement factor of 1.3 times. Better results would be obtained if the performance is further improved.
The virtual instrument which has been developed by us improves these features to 200 mm and 1.5 times, respectively, by using an optical design which is different from a conventional system.
The present paper describes the result of evaluation of visibility, structure and design technique for the new virtual instrument.
