C OVER STORY

Automated Driving

Shy Technology in Displays
for Automated Driving
In progressively more automated passenger cars a wide choice of information gets depicted
on ever larger displays. However, not every content is always relevant. Plus, displays can bea ­distraction. As an alternative to large displays, which are visible in the interior, Continental
has developed the restrained, tranquil and so-called shy display technology. Future displaysof this type will only be v­ isible when they are needed. At other times they have the look andfeel of a high-end surface material.

18

www.springerprofessional.com/automotive

W R I TTEN BY

Andreas Brüninghaus
is Principal Expert Haptics &Appearance and ProductManager Active Displays User
­Experience at Continental
in Babenhausen (Germany).

Jürgen Bäthis
is Senior Expert Touch
Displays at Continental
in Babenhausen (Germany).

Kai Hohmannis Principal Expert Automotive­Displays and Product Manager
Display Solutions at Continental
in Babenhausen (Germany).

Jochen Möller
is Senior Expert User Experience &Interaction Design at Continental
in Babenhausen (Germany).

© Continental

g The car is changing from a meansof transport to an extended living andwork area. This trend is driven byhigher automatic driving capabilities
which offer new degrees of freedomalso for drivers to decide how theywish to utilize the time spent traveling.
Typical options in a connected and­d igitalized car include information
access and communication as well
ATZ worldwide

01|2023   

as the possibility to work while on theroad. Large display areas are the basic
requirement for these options [1-3].
It is therefore no wonder that alongwith ­d igitalization and the growing
importance of vehicle software, display­d imensions (diagonal) have continuously grown over the years, FIGURE 1.
In connected and increasingly automated vehicles, a wide choice of infor-

mation gets depicted on ever more andever larger screens. However, not every
content is always relevant. Plus, displays
can be a distraction.
Since the early days of digital infor­
mation output in the vehicle, display
technology has been permanently optimized. Today, there is practically nolimit for designers which has led to thefirst concepts from A-pillar to A-pillar

19

C OVER STORY

Automated DrivingFIGURE 1 Development of number and diagonals
in inch of displays for driver instruments (left),center console (center) and co-driver (right) in apassenger car from 2005 to 2021 (© Continental)

shaping the vehicle interior in a way
never seen before. Increasingly, theuser experience in the cockpit is in­­fluenced by the integrated displays.
This is where new challenges arise:First of all, large and permanently­ isible dv­ isplays and the wealth of­information they depict can be a­distraction thus impacting driving
safety, unless the d­ isplays are embedded in a smart and holistic concept ofhuman-machine interaction.

Secondly, displays pose a design challenge because while they are very attractive in the active state, empty display
surfaces have no appeal at all. Flat displays in particular are not easily integrated into harmonious cockpit lines.
This was one of the reasons why OEMs
kept using classic instruments for a­certain time. In the ignition-off state
they retain a more high-grade lookthan inactive displays.
The shy display technology offers
an alternative to this. Continental has
used this solution as a developmentbasis for displays which seamlessly
blend into instrument panels by showing the same high-grade surface lookand feel, FIGURE 2. In their inactivestate, the currently exhibited prototypic samples show no visible display
zones or d
­ isplay areas at all. Yet, whenrequired, a brilliant display can be­activated in each of the three typicalinformation zones – for driver, center
console and co-driver. This productwas awarded the German DesignAward 2022 in Gold as a pioneering,
innovative technology.
SURFACE AND FUNCTION
OF THE DISPLAYSFIGURE 2 Instrument panel with fully activated shy displays (© Continental)

20

A cockpit based on the shy technology
approach seamlessly integrates highwww.springerprofessional.com/automotive

FIGURE 3 Information and control options are always there, however, they only become visible when needed (© Continental)r­ esolution displays into a two- or
three-dimensionally curved surface
with, for instance, a genuine wood,­carbon, or leather appearance, FIGURE 2.
When required, individual or all displays are activated and can thereby
span the entire width of the instrument
panel. The information output can be
adjusted to the specific driving situation through freely choosing which display areas are activated. The driver will
get exactly the amount of informationneeded. Driver distraction caused by asensory overload is avoided just as easily as a lack of information. Comparedto other display integration approaches,
shy technology upgrades inactive display areas because they have the vi­­
sual appeal of the “material” of theinstrument panel instead of showing
black spaces.
This is enabled by an innovative
semi-transparent surface which meets
many optic and haptic requirements
at once. The surface material ensuresthat each display is seamlessly integrated into the surrounding surface.
Even though the instrument panel
appears to be a monolithic structure,navigation, or other communication/
information plus touch control menus,
ATZ worldwide

01|2023   

for instance, are permanently there,­F IGURE 3. Depending on the configuration, the display surface appears to
be a wood lens or a leather-covered­surface. A surface structure not only
­produces the look of the genuine­material; it also gives it the feel ofthe real thing. By using this innovation, d­ isplays can now be integrated
in places in the interior that were­hitherto not available for it, such as
the rear of the seats.
The special surface material enables
elegantly curved cockpit lines. At thesame time, the shy technology supports
the trend to more sustainability becauseno (tropical) woods are needed any­longer and no animal products such asleather are used. This material is disappearing from the original equipment
more and more anyway.
DISPLAY FEATURESAND ITS DESIGN

Three state-of-the-art 12.3" LTPS LCDs
with a resolution of 1920 × 720 pixels
and local dimming matrix backlighting
are integrated underneath the cover foilof the design prototypic sample shownin the instrument panel in this article.

Local dimming with a dynamic rangeof more than 800 cd/m2 brightness isavailable across the entire display surface. InCell touch control is available
in the center console and co-driverareas. All contents are depicted in fullcolor with only a minimal and unno­
ticeable color shift. There is no dis­cernible postcard effect. That means,
there is no v
­ isible display boundary inthe t­ ransition area from backlighting to
the surrounding cover foil. All graphicelements have sharp contours. In contrast to current displays with LED edge
backlighting, the electricity demand ofa shy display solution can be reduced
along with the number of activated­displays via the local dimming algorithms, FIGURE 4.
The surface of a shy display consistsof a lens with several optical layers. This
includes the semi-transparent, printed
and potentially embossed cover foil,
Optically Clear Adhesive Foils (OCA),
plus transparent mechanic components.
This cover lens is laminated onto the­display underneath and its circumferential aluminum frame via OCA, FIGURE 5.
To ensure a sufficient mechanical stiffness and good handling properties
during manufacturing, a certain thick-21

C OVER STORY

Automated Driving

FIGURE 4 Technical characteristics: The on-demand principle of shy displays with local dimming can lower the electricity demand compared to serial solutions
as they are used today (© Continental)

ness of the lens between the cover foil
and the display is required. Nonetheless, a good balance between the necessary lens thickness and the optical­quality, such as the image focus, isachieved. For the mass-manufacturingof this kind of optical stack, highly
refined process technologies including
principles like injection molding as
In-mold Labeling (IML) or In-mold­Decoration (IMD) are available.
RESULTS OF OPTICALQUALIT Y MEASUREMENT

The exemplary surface design chosen
for the prototypic sample shown hereis based on a development and print
specification created by Continental
and its engineering partners. The goal

was a good balance between color saturation at the surface at natural ambientlighting conditions and the best possible
transparency that still hides the structural ­elements underneath. A transmittance of around 30 % was achieved
along with a low diffuse reflectionand excellent daylight readability, arealistic matte surface quality closely
resembling natural materials and yet
only a minimal color shift of thedisplay contents.
FIGURE 6 shows the transmittancespectrum that was achieved with oneof two investigated cover foil technologies for different surface designs. The
cover foil used in the prototypic samples has a particularly flat transmittance spectrum which ensures a very
high visual fidelity of the targeted color

spectrum of all display contents. In­principle, every foil layer does exert
a potential effect on the image quality
because the foil causes a certain scat­tering and soft-focus effect. To assess
the image quality of the shy display
against an objective scale, Continental
has utilized the contrast (C) measurement with the Modulation Transfer
Function (MTF).
For single pixel lines (black/white), aCMTF of 0.5 is considered as the l­owest
limit for text information ­readability, anda CMTF of 0.25 is c­ onsidered as the limit
for video content. D­ ifferent foil technologies were explored and measured, which
led to selecting a foil t­echnology: Thecover foil used in the prototypic samples
achieves a CMTF of around 0.8 which isan excellent result in the p­ revailing view.

FIGURE 5 Multilayer structure of a shy display solution (© Continental)

22

www.springerprofessional.com/automotive

FIGURE 6 Transmittance characteristics of the chosen foil technology across the color spectrum (© Continental)

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOKWhile large displays areas are thefuture of the vehicle cockpit, they­present a risk of sensory overload – atleast in some ­situations. Display contents
can distract the driver which can impact
driving safety. Also, conventional displays make it difficult to design instrument panels with harmoniously curvedlines. This is a ­particularly tricky point
whenever displays are not activatedand turn into black surfaces withoutvisual appeal.
The so-called Shy technology, in­contrast, makes it possible to seamlessly integrate information and con-trol options in a three-dimensional,
therefore free-form instrument panel.
The combination of a fine-looking surface, curved areas and a permanently
available, yet unobtrusive presentation and control option generates anattractive user experience. Shy displays not only support a harmonious
cockpit design, they also increase user
friendliness and driving safety. Potential distractions are literally hidden
and information and functions areoffered on demand. Display areas
can even be integrated in places in
the interior that were previously­inaccessible for this purpose.

REFERENCES[1] Homann, K.; Möller, J.: Natural-looking 3-D­Displays in the Cockpit. In: ATZworldwide 7-8/2021,
pp. 36-39[2] Schlott, S.: Intelligent Surfaces as Discreet­C ontrol Elements. In: ATZworldwide 7-8/2019,
pp. 8-13[3] [2] Blomeyer, D.; Schulte-Gehrmann, A.-L.:­S urface Innovations for Interiors of Future Vehicles.
In: ATZworldwide 6/2019, pp. 48-51

SAVE THE DATEAn Event Organized By

BATTERYBAATTTERYTERY CONFERENCETERCONFERENCE
April
26-28,
April 226-2
ApriApril
6-2
66-28
28, 2023
2023

PRELIMINARY SEMINARS ONLINE

More info online

Exciting Topics Around the Battery Technology

Basic Knowledge // Battery Research // Simulation Technology // Life Cycle // Battery Management

ATZe.worldwide
01|2023   
Haus der Technik
V. · Hollestr. 1 · 45127
Essen · Germany

23
www.battery-power.eu/en/vorseminare