head-up display
Sign in to saveAlso known as HUD, heads-up display
transparent display presenting data within normal sight lines of the user
~30 min read
Encyclopedic overview
HUD of an F/A-18 Hornet A head-up display, also known as a HUD (/hʌd/) or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view information with the head positioned "up" and looking forward, instead of angled down looking at lower instruments. A HUD also has the advantage that the pilot's eyes do not need to refocus to view the outside after looking at the optically nearer instruments.
Although they were initially developed for military aviation, HUDs are now used in commercial aircraft, automobiles, and other (mostly professional) applications.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “head-up display” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.