Strategic Development Partnership: FORVIA HELLA advances the development of mirrorless 3D AR Head-Up Displays

• Market innovation: mirrorless, space-optimized Head-Up Display enhances comfort and safety through augmented reality
• Navigation and context-aware cues are combined with the real environment
• Depth projection on the windshield creates an extended, spatial field of view

Lippstadt, 9 September 2026. International automotive supplier FORVIA HELLA and the Finnish start-up Distance Technologies have entered into a strategic partnership, supported by an investment through HELLA Ventures. This joint development will bring a mirrorless 3D AR Head-Up Display (HUD) for automotive applications. As a market innovation, it fundamentally extends the display principle of conventional Head-Up Displays: instead of merely projecting simple two-dimensional graphics into the driver’s field of view, the entire view is now augmented with three-dimensional visualizations. Real and virtual content are superimposed so that they are perceived as a consistent image without distracting the driver. In contrast to conventional HUDs that project an image onto the windshield using integrated mirrors, this product approach is mirrorless and thus significantly reduces the required installation space without compromising the 3D AR experience.

FORVIA HELLA contributes market-leading expertise in vehicle electronics and lighting with optical technologies to the partnership. FORVIA HELLA has proven development and industrialization competencies bringing complex technologies to the automotive market. Distance Technologies is a technology leader in AI-based, patented computational optics and 3D light field technology, bringing strong embedded software expertise to the development partnership.

All relevant information in the direct field of view

Based on 3D AR Head-Up Displays, complex information can now be shown in the field of view as if it were part of the real environment. For example, context-related environmental and driving information – such as dynamic navigation cues highlighting target roads, lane guidance, the exit to take, or hazard information – can be embedded precisely on the roadway within the driver’s real field of view. With a virtual 3D AR canvas, the applications to use the 3D AR HUD to display information are more flexible to the needs of the OEM and are able to be updated via software. The three-dimensional depth projection creates a virtual space in which entertainment formats can be provided specifically for passengers; video-based communication services are also possible for passengers – and, in scenarios of highly automated driving, for the driver as well.

“With the space-optimized 3D AR Head-Up Display, we not only expand our product portfolio with a new, future-oriented technology, but also advance the development of digital and sustainable cockpit experiences,” says Andreas Lütkes, member of the Electronics executive board at FORVIA HELLA. “In the partnership between FORVIA HELLA and Distance Technologies, leading automotive and industrialization competence is combined with advanced hardware and software expertise. This enables functions that project relevant driving information spatially and precisely into the field of view without distracting or fatiguing the driver. The result: a clear increase in safety, comfort, and intuitive interaction. The collaboration is therefore an important step in significantly shaping future user experiences.”

“The revolutionary 3D light field technology from Distance is at the center of our partnership with FORVIA HELLA, as we work together to bring a new generation of AR HUDs into series production. This collaboration – further strengthened by the investment from HELLA Ventures in Distance Technologies – enables us to move from merely displaying information to introducing visual intelligence into the physical world. This is how the cockpit of the future becomes reality: by delivering the safest and most natural visual experience, which evolves over time to rethink the world – as seen through a car’s windshield,” says Urho Konttori, co-founder and CEO of Distance Technologies.