Ceres Holographics, Appotronics Team for Windshield-Wide Laser HUD

Combining one company’s film-manufacturing technology with the other’s laser display expertise results in product ready to give drivers and passengers new information and experiences.

Ceres’ control over the manufacturing process allows a windshield-wide display to have areas that only the driver or passenger can see. This is a demonstration display Ceres is showing in Las Vegas this week during the Consumer Electronics Show. (Ceres)

Transparent display pioneer Ceres Holographics and laser display company Appotronics announced on Tuesday an agreement to combine their technologies to create transparent head-up displays (HUDs) for drivers and passengers.

Ceres says the most important decisions in designing a pillar-to-pillar HUD is deciding what to be included. The company argues for a "less is more" approach. (Ceres)

Each company fills in a key piece of the supply chain necessary to build complete systems for vehicle manufacturers. One such manufacturer, Ford, is already working with Ceres  to produce windshield-wide displays that feature separate areas for passengers.

In a news release timed to off-site demonstrations being held during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ceres CEO Andy Travers said the high-res technology is ready to be included in next-gen vehicles. “This combined offering will bring together proven commercial-ready, automotive-grade projection and hologram manufacturing and accelerate the adoption of advanced transparent display solutions,” he said.

Ceres executives say the company's highly accurate mastering process results in better mass production with little waste. (Ceres)

The partnership leverages Scotland-based Ceres’ design capability and its HoloFlekt manufacturing technology and Texas-based Appotronics’ high-performance Advanced Laser Phosphor Display (ALPD) projection technology. The statement said the combined solution meets size, cost, reliability and viewability requirements of most OEMs.

In 2021, Ceres said the HoloFlekt film was best for vertical windshield applications  such as those in industrial applications, such as delivery vehicles, construction, and agricultural equipment. But the product is, well, more flexible now.

The company's HoloFlext manufacturing technology keeps costs low, making the new ADLP laser projections viable for OEMs. (Ceres)

Appotronics, which developed ALPD in 2007, said it developed solutions for Chinese EV manufacturers and that fast-growing market. The technology is more capable and more affordable than traditional LED displays, said Meng Han, senior director of business development and product marketing of Appotronics’ automotive business unit. “With Ceres’ technology… we can 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. 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.”

Laminating the film into the windshield, which was developed in conjunction with Eastman, is the final step. (Ceres)

The key to the success of HoloFlekt is that it has eliminated the difficulty of producing large-format holographic optical elements (HOEs), which rely on principles of diffraction to generate sharp images. HOEs have been a part of holography since the 1900s.

In the system being demonstrated, each area of information to be displayed (driver and passenger) require a separate ALPD projector.

Travers said the combined solution is ready for a market that is about to see a new wave of innovation as OEMs rush to create new experiences. “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,” he said.

Unlike many of today’s in-dash displays, use of the new HUD is not affected by a driver or passenger wearing polarized sunglasses.