Ceres Holographics and Appotronics today announced they have agreed to combine their technologies for in-car display solutions including driver and passenger transparent heads-up displays (HUDs). The agreement expands Appotronics’ foothold in automotive laser display and illumination and provides Ceres and its other holographic windshield partners with another key link in the supply chain required to deliver complete systems to its expanding base of OEM customers.

The partners say that their partnership will provide more intuitive, flexible, and distraction-free high-resolution display solutions for next-generation vehicles. A demonstration of the combined HUD system was planned for CES 2025 at the Appotronics demo suite in the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel but it was caught up in U.S. Customs as we published.

“This is a unique combination of strengths that directly responds to OEMs’ need to deliver new innovative experiences to their customers,” said Andy Travers, CEO of Ceres. “This combined offering will bring together proven commercial-ready, automotive-grade projection and hologram manufacturing and accelerate the adoption of advanced transparent display solutions.”

The partnership leverages Ceres’ design capability and its HoloFlext manufacturing technology and Appotronics’ high-performance ALPD (advanced laser phosphor display) projection technology to meet the size, cost, reliability, and viewability requirements of innovative automotive OEMs. The two companies have the manufacturing infrastructure in place to quickly implement optimized solutions to address a range of vehicle types and use cases.

In 2007, Appotronics invented the ALPD technology, which dramatically reduces the cost of laser light sources. It has become a mainstream technology in the global laser display industry and is widely used in cinema, professional AV applications, and smart home solutions. Now the company is creating new applications and markets in automotive illumination and display, developing several automotive-grade display products.

Appotronics has developed a range of solutions for the fast-growing EV market in China and elsewhere, driving a renaissance in in-cabin experiential technology that goes beyond traditional LED displays.

Its projection systems have been implemented in a variety of use cases and it has demonstrated an ability to meet the demanding automotive specifications. The pairing of a Ceres holographic-enabled windshield and side window and Appotronics high-resolution projectors allows carmakers to introduce automotive-qualified, safety-oriented, and highly differentiated displays in their vehicles.

The potential of Appotronics’ technology was shown at CES 2023, with BMW’s i Vision Dee concept featuring a projected image of the approaching driver’s or rider’s avatar onto the side window to personalize the car’s user welcome scenario. It was enabled by headliner-mounted laser projectors using the ALPD technology.

“With Ceres’ technology, we can leverage our expertise in developing projection systems that meet the needs of automotive use and apply that to transparent displays which provide drivers with safer and more intuitive ways to view critical operational information such as speed, navigation, and safety alerts without taking their eyes off the road,” said Dr. Meng Han, Senior Director of Business Development and Product Marketing of Appotronics Automotive BU. “The display quality, field of view, and transparency that the Ceres’ holographic films allow creates new and exciting ways for people to consume content from our systems in vehicles of all types.”

Ceres’ precision digital mastering and replication technology overcome the traditional barriers to the design and manufacture of very-large-format holographic optical elements (HOEs) in high volume. The elements are key to enabling configurable high-performance transparent displays for both automotive and other display applications in adjacent markets such as transportation, industrial, and consumer.

Seamlessly embedded into a windscreen as a thin film over the entire windshield, each precision-engineered HOE functional area is paired with a high-resolution Appotronics projector, which is discreetly integrated into the vehicle’s instrument panel, making this innovative solution viable for mass adoption.

“This partnership will allow us to offer OEMs a practical and scalable way to deliver display systems with differentiated HMI and UX features that enhance safety and enjoyment,” added Travers. “The competitive landscape has shifted, and automakers are taking on more consumer product-like mindsets in terms of the required pace of innovation and feature adoption required for success.”

Ceres HoloFlekt film technology can transform a windscreen or other glass structure into an ultra-bright, full-color display. In car windshields, it can realize large format pillar-to-pillar HUDs where safety, operational, navigation, and infotainment content can all be shown directly to the intended viewer in a clear and non-distractive manner regardless of external light conditions.