Interesting auto products from Aliexpress that are worth paying attention to

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Guys, many of us chase technological progress (not always consciously), but not all fashionable things are really useful. Although, maybe someone needs air humidifiers in the car! However, there are also useful modern devices for cars, such as a head-up display on the windshield, which only expensive (premium) cars have. However, you can make such a display yourself, and practically for free, the main thing is that you have an Android phone...

To be honest, I’m not a fan of all sorts of new products, but the head-up display is really cool, and at night it’s also useful, you don’t need to be distracted by the main speedometer, the information is projected onto the windshield. You drive, look at the road, and in front of your eyes is a projection of the speed, and you can also display the time and GPS data, in general it’s convenient.

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Types of projectors

Like many other technical inventions of our time, HUD displays are developing very quickly and rapidly, and the most modern models of such devices are already appearing, with a number of unique capabilities. As for the division into types, projectors can be divided according to several criteria. The first criterion by which separation is possible is connection methods:

Connecting to the cigarette lighter. At the moment, this connection method is the simplest. This connection option can be called the most optimal even if the car is still under warranty, since in this case it is better not to deal with the on-board computer.
Connected via diagnostic port.
Connected to the vehicle's on-board system. This method is rightfully considered the most difficult, so you can trust it only to professionals in this matter; it is better not to connect such a projector yourself.

In addition to being divided by connection method, projectors can also be divided by functionality:

Multimedia projectors. They are one of the latest developments in this direction. Such a projector is capable of not only displaying all the necessary information in the form of images, but also accompanying the output process with special sounds that begin to sound if any parameter does not meet the standards.
Speed projector on the windshield.
It is the simplest projector that is capable of displaying only the speedometer indicators on the windshield, and if the speed is exceeded, report this using a sound or color signal. Its connection to the car most often occurs using the on-board computer.

Projector-navigator. Such a projector is capable of displaying not only speed indicators and some other information, but also the direction of movement of your car, which, of course, can be very convenient. Also, such projectors may have a number of additional functions, including playing music, viewing photos and videos. The most advanced companies in terms of production of such projectors are: Garmin, Carax, Asus, Hitachi, Samsung, Toshiba, Nec.

Transparent film for car sills

A useful find for motorists is a transparent film that will reliably protect the car sills from chips and scratches. This film looks like an invisible screen. It is glued to the paint area and can be removed if necessary.

Price: US $3.17 – 11.98

Between the glasses

In 2012, Vitaly and Mikhail began assembling the first giant prototypes based on standard optics to determine how interesting the effect would be. It became clear that the required image and required dimensions could not be achieved. The idea came to use a flat Fresnel lens, like those that are installed on the rear windows of cars. This transparent film is glued or welded between the triplex glasses and works as part of the optical system. We decided to create a Fresnel lens for several wavelengths, and it turned out that it was a hologram - a holographic optical element (HOE). The most extensive experience in working with holographic materials in Russia is at the Lebedev Physical Institute - the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute. It was there that colleagues went to find new technologies. We started with holograms on silver, trying to understand whether it was even possible to make holographic elements of a large area, and gradually switched to prototypes of transparent photopolymers. We made a volumetric three-dimensional hologram on which a diffraction grating was recorded - essentially, a virtual optical element, a wavefront converter that reflected waves of the required length and transmitted the rest.

Cars

Security Lightning: The Most Exotic Road Car

The idea for a device that projects navigation information onto the windshield of a car came to Vitaly when he was distracted by the navigator and almost crashed the car. The concept was gradually supplemented by Internet connection, social networking and augmented reality technologies.

“What's innovative here? — Vitaly Ponomarev anticipates my question. — We didn’t invent holography. Photopolymers too. And there were attempts to make HUDs using holographic elements before us. But then there were no cheap lasers and photopolymers that met our requirements: transparency and lack of host effects. We got into head-up displays just at the moment when all this appeared. Our small startup was the first to create design and production tools that were impossible in a large company, and became the first.” However, it is wrong to consider WayRay a technology integrator: the company employs physicists, mechanical engineers, optics, and programmers. Even the design tools they use are non-standard: they had to be modified so that they could read systems with “abnormal” optical components.

Projection with navigation on Xiaomi windshield

An interesting device from Xiaomi, which is mounted on the dashboard. Connects using a cable via the OBD2 connector. All data is displayed on the device projection: engine speed, speed, temperature, etc. The device can be synchronized with your smartphone and broadcast pictures directly from your phone.

Price: US$79.79

Leopard monster

In addition to the size and complexity of the design, traditional head-up displays have another drawback: they display a flat image at a distance of 20 cm from the windshield. That is, the driver still has to refocus his gaze. And Vitaly Ponomarev decided to get an image at a distance of 10-20 m. According to his plan, the picture should become three-dimensional. Not stereoscopic, but real, holographic. Despite his financial education, Vitaly understood physics very well. While searching for investors, he learned a lot about new technologies. His intuition told him in which areas to look for specialists. As a rule, the origins of such companies are two people: one is a marketing guru, the second is a technical genius. Everything was fine with marketing, it was up to the techie. The story of finding the technical director of the future WayRay has already been included in the cases of headhunters: Vitaly simply launched a search using the words “lasers”, “microelectronics” and “IT” on Habr, the cult website of technology geeks habrahabr.ru. In the top answers, the search engine returned: Mikhail Svarichevsky with the nickname BarsMonster. “Now this monster is mine,” Ponomarev jokes.

Anti-fog coating

Motorists often encounter the problem of foggy car windows, which impairs visibility and can lead to an emergency on the road. A hydrophobic aerosol will help cope with this problem. You need to apply it to a dry surface and the spray will provide excellent protection against the accumulation of logs and various debris on the glass or mirror of the car.

Price: US $0.35 – 1.39

Installing the Projector

In order for windshield projection to work properly, the projector must first be installed. There are quite a large number of different projectors, the installation of which is available to the average car owner, since most often this is done very simply.

This can be said about those projectors that connect to the cigarette lighter. In this case, the car owner only needs to connect the power cable and also secure the LED display.

After which you can safely start using such a projector. But before that, you need to stick a special film, which comes with the projector, onto the windshield. It is very important to take this moment as carefully and seriously as possible; the first thing you should do is check the windshield. In order for the film to work properly, the windshield must not have any scratches, roughness or other damage. Only if there is a smooth windshield without damage, a high-quality projection is possible.

The way the projector connects to the on-board computer is the most complex connection method, so it is best left to professionals. For example, you can connect a projector to an on-board computer at any car service center, and it will not cost much. You should also take into account the fact that if the car is still under warranty, then such a connection may be undesirable.

However, if you are good with technology and understand modern electronics, or even better, have experience connecting any complex devices, then you can try connecting the projector to the on-board computer yourself.

But if you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to simply not take risks and not waste your own time, but immediately turn to those people who can do this as quickly and as simply as possible.

A little history

Head-up displays or HUDs, which are now being actively introduced into car designs, were not originally created for cars at all. And not even for other ground vehicles.

The first prototype of the projector was used in aviation. The equipment was intended to be installed in the helmet of the pilot, who could receive all the necessary data in front of him, and not be distracted by the instrument panel inside the cockpit.

The development quickly gained popularity and became incredibly in demand. This is not surprising, since the speeds in military aviation are enormous, and every fraction of a second matters. Displaying information on the helmet allowed us to solve a number of existing problems.

The unique technology did not go unnoticed in the civilian world for long. The first among automobile companies to decide to use HUD displays in cars were German developers from BMW. They managed to display a large amount of information directly on the windshield using a set of sensors. This decision was later adopted by other automakers.

Simple navigation without unnecessary details

Nowadays, car navigators have become firmly entrenched in the lives of motorists; they coordinate trips, warn about traffic jams, and can also act as a recorder or media player. The Garmin company, in addition to standard navigators, decided to please its fans with another solution - simple, minimalistic and very fashionable - the Head-Up Display model, which will not take up much space on the dashboard (which cannot be said about conventional navigators).

The principle of operation of this device is simple - it connects via bluetooth to your iOS-based mobile phone, on which you first need to install a special program, and takes route data from it. After which it displays them on the windshield, on which it is necessary to glue a special film (it is on it that the information will be displayed). It's simple, you'll agree.

Be careful that currently (until the new firmware is released) the device only works with Apple devices - check with your operators for details.

What does a Head Up Display show?

The information that the Head Up Display displays on the windshield is determined by its design. Let's just say that the following may be displayed:

speedometer readings;
voltage value in the on-board network;
tachometer readings;
road signs;
route and navigation situation;
indication of control lamps on the instrument panel.

The Head Up Display system is evolving, and the amount of displayed data is constantly changing towards its qualitative improvement. So, one of the tasks of such a system should be to recognize pedestrians or objects on the side of the road while driving, especially at night. In addition, the displayed information can be accompanied by light and sound signals to warn the driver if the established limits are exceeded.

In principle, a further development of such a system could be a complete display of the situation while the vehicle is moving and its technical condition. At the same time, monitoring everything that happens will not distract the driver from driving.

Displaying information on the windshield that duplicates the readings of the instrument panel or navigation system is not vital at the moment. In most cases, it is of an auxiliary nature and does not have a serious impact on driving. However, with further development, HUD may provide more significant assistance to the driver.