As cars become more closely connected to technology, LCD dashboards are becoming more common.

Compared with mechanical instruments, the LCD instrument panel has a more sense of science and technology, and has more extension space in interaction and layout. However, freedom of design is not an advantage, it is a double-edged sword. HMI design is good, the sense of technology is the icing on the cake; bad design, the sense of technology has become a burden.

The fact is that many car manufacturers are still relatively inexperienced in the interactive design of LCD instruments, and the freedom of design has led to too much. For example, the interface design of some products is too fancy, the information displayed is too rich, and users cannot find the key points of the information. Since then, some users have missed the days when the mechanical dashboard was simple and rough.

Therefore, in order to combine the "technical sense" of liquid crystal meters with the "emphasis of emphasis" of mechanical meters, taking into account both technology and practicality, a "3D instrument panel" was derived.

There is a saying now: In the future, large-sized, high-resolution, 3D image dashboards will become a big trend. Is this really the case? Before exploring this issue, let's take a look at a specific case of a 3D dashboard.

About 3D Dashboard

In March of this year, "Visteon", known for its cockpit electronics, launched a 3D dashboard and it was mounted on the new Peugeot 208 (only foreign high-end models can carry this feature, and the domestic version has no specific news). Let's take a look at the specific form.

In the future, the dashboard will develop diversified 3D LCD dashboards or become a trend

It can be seen from the figure that it does highlight key information like mechanical meters, such as speed / warning. And according to Visteon, users can adjust the shadow effect when using it, freely create depth, adjust color and appearance display. In driving assistance mode, dynamic 3D effects can be displayed in real time.

In terms of hardware, it consists of two TFTs (liquid crystal display): a 10.25-inch LCD screen as the "background" and a 7-inch semi-reflective blade as the "foreground". The light uses the principle of reflection between the two screens with a distance of 15 mm to present a 3D effect.

In simple terms, the principle is: using a two-layer screen structure to achieve the naked eye 3D stereoscopic sense through the difference in the visual angle of the two eyes.

Moreover, this 3D imaging technology, compared with general AR / VR stereo imaging technology, can avoid the situation where the focal distance felt by the user is not consistent with the actual focal distance.

In addition to the foreign version of the new Peugeot 208, the Hyundai 2019 GenesisG70 is also equipped with similar technology. The supplier is LGDisplay.

These are the products that are currently installed on mass-produced models, and some suppliers are also developing related technologies: such as Delphi, Renesas Electronics, Fujitsu, Continental and so on.

Renesas Electronics:

In the future, the dashboard will develop diversified 3D LCD dashboards or become a trend

mainland:

In the future, the dashboard will develop diversified 3D LCD dashboards or become a trend

How to evaluate a 3D dashboard?

In my opinion, the essential function of the dashboard is to allow the driver to obtain the necessary information in a timely manner while driving.

Therefore, the "timeliness" and "prominence" of information have become the two most important evaluation criteria. Whatever the means and form, a good instrument panel that can achieve this goal well.

Users now want to change from LCD instrument panel, mechanical instrument panel, or evolve to 3D instrument panel. Essentially, the current instrument panel HMI is not good enough. The focus is not on hardware / form, but on interaction / experience.

Here, 3D rendering is a form, and the LCD instrument panel is a piece of hardware. They are tools, they are soil. What really drives the last flowering is interaction and experience.

Therefore, the 3D instrument panel is not a necessary condition for a good instrument panel. It is just a form of transition for automakers from "mechanical instruments" to "digital instruments".

The experience is not perfect, it doesn't matter who is responsible. Depots are not gods. The "new technology presentation form" always has to run in with "user needs" several times to present the best state. In the past, automobiles were mainly mechanical structures, but now technology elements are slowly being injected. To reach the end of intelligence, there must always be a process.

In short, 3D effects are just a "tool", and the core of the design is still "user experience".

What are the future trends?

Finally, let us return to the question mentioned at the beginning: In the future, will large-size, high-resolution, 3D image dashboards become a big trend?

In my opinion, apart from the high resolution factor, there is no doubt that the large size and 3D image form have room for discussion.

Here we can compare the two examples of Visteon and Tesla:

Peugeot's 3D dashboard is very similar to the mechanical dashboard, no matter the layout of the UI or the logic of the prominent information is very similar. Although it achieves a balance between technology and practicality, it is not breakthrough enough, like a very conservative transition product.

The display information of the Tesla ModelS / ModelX dashboard is divided into three areas: the middle is real-time road condition information, and the left and right sides can be set by themselves, such as clock, trip, music, vehicle status, and so on.

The data are displayed in 2D. There is no 3D processing, but the three-dimensional graphics created by light and shade changes. But the distribution of information is very clear and clear, and the key points can be seen, and the real-time traffic information in the middle is very useful, so the 2D form does not affect the user experience.

Tesla's latest production model, the Model 3, has no instrument panel at all, and the display content of the instrument is integrated into the upper left corner of the large 15-inch central control screen. Tesla said that the reason for this is because they make autonomous driving the ultimate goal. Since they are all going to be autonomous, the dashboard is useless.

Although the sales of the Model 3 were very beautiful and the user evaluation after driving was very high, I still feel that this design is not user-friendly, at least it is not suitable for me.

Of course, this issue cannot be discussed from the perspective of products only. We also need to think in terms of brand philosophy, company operation and maintenance, and identity attributes. Suppliers develop and promote 3D dashboards because this is a profitable business; Tesla is eager to eliminate dashboards because it saves costs.

In summary, Tesla's ModelS / ModelX dashboard design is rich in information and focused. The real-time road conditions in the middle can provide me with redundant assistance; no dashboard is too aggressive and not suitable for my driving skills. People; the 3D dashboard is not enough to break through, and it seems that it is always unavoidable for a particularly exaggerated UI (maybe my evaluation is narrow, don't spray it if you don't like it).

Being clean, simple, and focused, is my definition of a sense of technology. Therefore, I personally prefer the first one.