Envisics and Panasonic Partner to Accelerate In-Car AR Technology

Envisics, founded by Dr. Jamieson Christmas, its CEO, was established three years ago with the goal of fundamentally changing the driving experience through its innovative holographic technology. The company now has a strategic partner poised to help realize this vision.

The U.K.-based firm specializing in holographic technology announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with Panasonic Automotive Systems to collaboratively develop and launch a new generation of head-up displays for cars, trucks, and SUVs. Panasonic Automotive Systems, a leading Tier 1 automotive supplier, operates as a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America. These head-up displays are integrated into a vehicle’s dashboard and project images onto the windshield to assist drivers with navigation and deliver important alerts. The upcoming Panasonic HUDs will incorporate Envisics’ holographic technology.

This collaboration, revealed prior to the virtual 2021 CES technology event, builds upon Envisics’ recent $50 million Series B funding round and the news that its technology will be featured in the forthcoming Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle. The funding round, which valued Envisics at over $250 million, included investments from Hyundai Mobis, GM Ventures, SAIC Ventures and Van Tuyl Companies.

The core of Envisics’ technology stems from Dr. Christmas’ doctoral research at Cambridge University, conducted over 15 years ago, and involves the electronic control of light speed. This process creates the illusion of three-dimensional images, as Dr. Christmas explained in a recent discussion. The company has secured over 250 patents, with an additional 160 currently under review for certification.

The company’s efforts are exclusively dedicated to applying holography within the automotive sector, according to Dr. Christmas, and its initial iteration is already present in more than 150,000 Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

Dr. Christmas stated that this new partnership intends to leverage Panasonic’s proficiency in optical design and its extensive global network as a Tier 1 supplier, combined with Envisics’ technology, to make holographic displays widely available. The companies anticipate that vehicles equipped with this technology will enter mass production in 2023.

“This directly supports our business strategy; the Series B funding we secured was intended to expand our operations and facilitate our entry into the market,” Dr. Christmas explained. “A key component of this plan was establishing partnerships with Tier 1 suppliers to effectively deliver these products.”

“This represents the first such agreement,” he added, hinting at Envisics’ broader ambitions.

The outcome, Dr. Christmas said, will be head-up displays offering high resolution, a broad spectrum of colors, and large-scale images that seamlessly integrate with the driver’s view of the road. The technology is also capable of projecting information at varying distances simultaneously.

“This capability opens up a range of compelling possibilities,” he said. “Initially, we’ll see relatively straightforward augmented reality applications like navigation guidance, lane highlighting, and safety features. However, looking ahead to the future of autonomous driving, it unlocks a wealth of further opportunities, including entertainment and video conferencing.”

He also noted the potential for applications like night vision, where enhanced information could be overlaid onto a dark road to clearly indicate the road’s path and potential hazards.