The round was led by Hyundai Mobis with additional investments from new strategic shareholders InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover, and Stellantis.
Automotive Head-Up Displays (HUDs) have been around for a while, but the Envisics approach to HUD technology is quite different from traditional image-based systems. They use a custom-developed spatial light modulator (SLM) that can manipulate the phase of light. A hologram of the image is computed and the hologram pattern is driven to the SLM, which is illuminated by a laser or LED, and the resulting holographic image is displayed at a fixed focal plane in front of the car. This approach has the advantage of using all the light to display content, making it more efficient, but it also requires heavy computational load to calculate the phase hologram.
Envisics developed a new way to calculate full-color, high-resolution phase holograms dynamically in real time. Envisics also custom developed a silicon backplane of the LCOS for optimized phase modulation, requiring a very high birefringent liquid crystal material for accurate phase modulation at full-motion video rates. The hologram is visible even if there are missing pixels on the phase modulator, which makes it easy to manufacture, and alignment is also straightforward. A phase-modulated HUD is about half the size of a conventional DLP or LCD-based HUD, which optimizes system performance and efficiency.
