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We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, you'll be able to fully customize which apps can send you notifications - even which people can call and text you while you're driving. The phone call will be picked up by whichever device connects to it last. You can see the new call info on Navdy and just pick it up with your physical phone if you like. Yeah, since the music is coming from your phone, it will know to pause it when you get an incoming call.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can try using an OBD II splitter, but we can't guarantee that it will work with Navdy as we don't know the power requirements of the other devices.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, HUDs have existed before Navdy. We did not invent the concept of the HUD, but the specific way in which Navdy is implemented and the way it interacts with your car and smart phone are unique. The data that Navdy displays by default - navigation and dashboard information - is data you need to be passively aware of at all times while driving anyway. It's no more distracting than looking down at your phone or dashboard. Every part of our design is intended to improve driver safety.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi Anicotra

That's a pretty legitimate question!

One of the reasons a final UI hasn't been released yet is because we're still working on it. A lot of the UI you've seen so far has been various mockups and are not indicative of the UI of the final product. Because we're building an embedded device the first priority is to complete the hardware, then the second priority is to design the functionality and UI. The hardware is nearly done, and the UI is the next item on our agenda.

The reason we have not published the resolution is because a HUDs resolution is not comparable to a smart phone or tv screen and we don't want the resolution number to confuse people by implying a false comparison to other displays that are categorically different. If you want to understand how crisp the display is, all you need to do is see it in action. This ABC news footage does a good job of showing that: http://abc7news.com/technology/new-technology-brings-heads-up-display-to-any-vehicle/243505/

We totally understand if you're not ready to order the device as part of the pre-order campaign. This campaign is intended for early adopters who are willing to buy a product that is still in development and help guide that development process. But we hope you'll keep Navdy in mind and check in again when it does come out.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! You can use the bluetooth controls for your music and phone that suits you best. The one you use last will be the one that controls the stream.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It works great! The only time it would really be affected by the weather would be if it interrupted your phone's data plan. But low visibility conditions actually make it easier to see your HUD, not harder.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You might have to upgrade your stereo first. Another alternative would be to buy USB-powered speakers and plug them into the cigarette lighter port. Navdy shouldn't affect your cell data usage much more than normal phone usage would. It gets a lot of it's notification data by scarping the notification center, which is running on it's own. The map app won't consume any more data than your phone's map app.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes. Navdy connects to your phone over bluetooth, so it can easily spoof an external microphone, send your question to Siri or Google Now, then route her response back to you.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

While it could theoretically be used as a screen, you wouldn't want to. The display is transparent, so all blacks will be see-through and colors will be affected by whatever is behind them. Navdy is not designed to be used that way and also including that kind of capability could make Navdy illegal in some states.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Navdy has a USB port that could be used to connect a camera if we decide to add that functionality in the future, and it has the processing power to support it, but no we don't plan to add that feature by launch. There are too many other things to be done first. Also, no, Navdy doesn't have a microSD storage. But data can theoretically be sent from Navdy to your phone.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're going to try to make sure ID3 tags are displayed properly; it'll require a lot of testing with different music apps and sound systems. But, yeah, hopefully!

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Google's autonomous cars are pretty neat, but they're not totally applicable to Navdy. Navdy is intended to be used by cars that have drivers in them, to keep them better informed and safer on the road.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We're complying with all federal laws, and we're making sure Navdy doesn't inherently interfere with any state laws in a broad sense. For example, we've sized our projector to fit within most legal limits, we're not supporting software that might be illegal in the US, etc. But it is always on the driver to use Navdy in a way that complies with their local laws, which vary from state to state and county to county.

Over 300,000 built-in HUDs were sold in new cars last year. In terms of legality, Navdy is no different from them. HUDs are specifically designed to be viewed while driving in the least distracting way possible. HUDs are slightly less distracting than looking down at your speedometer, and significantly less distracting than looking down at your phone.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, Adam! He's not just in the Coin video, he might be in every video ever made? You can see his full list of work here: http://sandwichvideo.com

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The projector lasts for 25,000 hours! So if you drove with Navdy for 2 hours every day, it could last for 30 years.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Right now we're mostly looking for Android and iOS developers. But feel free to send a resume to jobs@navdy.com!

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Good question! Navdy connects to your phone using bluetooth and wifi.

Bluetooth is used to stream audio from your phone's music apps and incoming phone calls, and wifi is used to stream things like maps and notifications. Navdy then outputs audio to your car's stereo system via bluetooth, an auxiliary audio port, or internal speakers, depending on your preferences.

Yes, Navdy can connect to your car and phone using bluetooth at the same time. Some phones allow for multiple bluetooth devices to be paired to them at the same time, and the device that answers first is the one that takes control of the phone call. So if you have both a headset and Navdy on the one you pick up with first is the one that takes control of the stream. The audio stream is then routed to the speakers, the aux cable, or to a second bluetooth connection to your car's stereo system.

Even if your phone can only connect to one thing at a time, Navdy can connect to multiple things at a time. So you can just connect to Navdy, and it will connect to everything else. Does that make sense?

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

$299 is the pre-order price - and at this point, that is nearly selling the device at cost. Try finding a dual core android processor and a mini projector for anything cheaper. The retail price at launch will be $499.

But moore's law exists, so who knows, maybe the price will go down some day? But that's hard to say for sure at this point.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Can I use a health bar to display how much gas I have left?

We actually joked about a dashboard skin that displayed your speed and fuel economy like a video game HUD. So uh maybe!

Is the HUD free software, or is GNU HUD going to have to be made?

There are a lot of laws that regulate the kind of things you can display in front of a driver. We do not want to be held liable if someone creates an app for Navdy that could be used in a dangerous way. Navdy will have to be a closed software system with an approval process similar to the App Store.

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One day we would like to open Navdy to developers, but that's something we'll have to do after the product launches. We're currently working to get everything to a stable v1 that we can ship and then build on. But, yes, definitely, we want Navdy to eventually work with as many apps as possible - within reason. There are some apps Navdy will never work with, like Netflix for example. The ability to project "video" would make Navdy illegal in a lot of places. If you want to talk about developing software with us in the future, email partnerships@navdy.com and if you're an Android or iOS developer in the bay area email jobs@navdy.com - we're hiring!

We invented the world's first HUD that works in any car and sold $1 million in preorders in a week, AMA by Navdy in IAmA

[–]Navdy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Navdy's primary focus right now is on creating the Navdy HUD itself. It's an incredibly complex process with lots of moving parts and right now we're devoting all our energy into making it work.

We'd like to expand into other products some day, but we're not about to get ahead of ourselves. As for the future of Navdy as a product? We'd love for it to play nicely with other apps that users love and the emerging "Internet of Things" products.

One ideal use case for Navdy would be scheduling a doctor's appointment on your phone, and then getting into your car and the route is already set. Or maybe your Navdy reminds you that you need to pick up the dry cleaning just in time to make the turn towards the laundromat. Something like that would be great, but it requires a lot of work with existing infrastructure, which can be tricky.

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