Pioneer has unveiled a car navigation system equipped with a head-up display (HUD), which displays instructions and maps on a translucent plastic board between the windshield and the driver's seat.

'Cyber Navi' is the first product of its kind and has been designed to improve traffic safety because conventional devices require drivers to look away from the road for longer periods.

The car navigation system comes in two models: "AVIC-VH99HUD" (1D + 1D unit), which is a high-end model, and "AVIC-ZH99HUD" (2D unit). Both of them will be released in late July 2012. The expected retail prices of the VH99 and ZH99 are 320,000 yen (approx US$4,006) and 300,000, respectively.



The information displayed on the 90 x 30cm (about 37-inch) color image display will appear to the driver as 30-cm-long, 90-cm-wide images 3 meters away, the company said.

Only the information that is necessary for driving can be displayed on the HUD. The navigation system features four types of driving modes. And a remote control that comes with the system is used to switch driving modes. For safety, Pioneer employed a resin projection screen whose edges do not face the driver's head in case of a car accident.

The Cyber Navi is capable of showing a large image of the speed limit when a camera catches speed-limit signs on the road. The system also sounds an alarm when the car continues to straddle two lanes on a highway.