Holographic laser head-up display, small enough for side mirror

Increasingly popular head-up displays aren't only for BMWs, Corvettes , Cadillacs, and F-16 jets. Light Blue Optics is making the tech more practical, creating a new projection device that's so small, it'll fit in a car's side mirror. It shows you an image that looks like it's about 6 feet behind you, superimposed over the road.

This trickery is possible because of a miniaturized holographic laser projector that's about a tenth the size of the head-up display system in the BMW 5 Series. It's small enough to install in a variety of configurations, and will work equally well on the windshield, or rearview mirrors and side mirrors.

These displays will be safer, too. The data appears to your eyes to be the same distance as other objects on the road, making it so you don't need to waste time focusing. Says Light Blue Optics head of business development Edward Buckley, 'At speeds of 100 kilometers an hour, this can cost you 22 meters in stopping distance.' Too bad Buckley says we won't see this technology in vehicles for four more years.
[DVICE via Technology Review]