With large console displays and touchscreens now recognised as causing increased driver distraction, frustration, and regulatory scrutiny, there is a growing shift—driven by both consumer demand and new safety standards— to better blend information display with more familiar and intuitive control systems. On top of a move to adapt more tactile controls, multi-function steering wheels, and intuitive voice interfaces, new transparent, windshield-integrated displays and conventional head-up displays (HUDs) are emerging as a natural interface focus point – enabling glanceable, ‘look-ahead’ information delivery without compromising safety. Technology and supply chain advancements in holographic film manufacturing and windshield lamination have made customizable and large field of view transparent displays viable and very cost-effective, and able to provide a differentiated user experience for OEMs. With many practical challenges largely resolved, this possibility presents a powerful blank canvas for OEMs and HMI designers to reimagine how essential vehicle information is accessed—combining safety, minimalism, and design freedom in one forward-looking solution. The future of automotive HMI lies not in more screens but in smarter, more human-centered ways of presenting information.

What you will learn:

• What shifting regulatory pressures (like Euro NCAP 2026) are reshaping in-vehicle HMI design, emphasizing tactile controls and reduced cognitive load
• How transparent windshield displays utilising holographic film technology are becoming viable, scalable, and cost-effective solutions for presenting critical driving information
• How designers and OEMs can use transparent displays as a new “blank canvas” to reimagine safer, more intuitive user experiences that align with both consumer expectations and future safety standards