Conventional instrument panels require the driver to change the line of sight and their visual focal length to read information on the instrument cluster. This means the driver is looking away from the road for a significant distance when traveling at speed.
Reflective displays are mounted within the dash panel. They use a mirror embedded in the dash, forward of the driver, to reflect an image of the instrument cluster. The actual instruments are hidden in the dash and it is a reflected view of them that the driver sees.
This has the effect of the instruments appearing to be located further away than they actually are. The benefit of this system is that the driver’s focal point changes less when looking from the road to the instruments and back.
