knight rider online

Here are some HUD screen grabs for discussion.
Some things I noticed:
The pictures are animated and rotate in 3d. That’s really cool! So much better than the still shots we saw used in the BD pilot.
Also they stuck with the idea of the boarder changing colors. You can see it turns to red when Sarah’s condition worsens. That was a part of the BD pilot design I know I liked.
In the first picture we can see full color video, yea! And even better the modules can be dragged around on the window. Here is the original thread so you can check on what of our ideas they incorporated.

viewtopic.php?f=1041&t=11810&p=139781" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here are two more rather cool looking ones. You can see the regular as well as digital gauges.

1. I wonder what the status bar in the bottom of the HUD (showing 92.5 and 85.0) is for? Is it for showing KITT's shield integrity? Then maybe there will come a fight where KITT's shield is lowered and we can see it here (for instance if they do make the KITT vs KARR/Goliath scene)

2. In the HUD during the Attack Mode you can see a lot of boxes in the lower part of the HUD (below the Turbo Boost text on the last pic) that seems to be weaponries. I think I saw something resembling a rocket there, and with GST saying that Attack KITT have weaponries, maybe it's something that we will look at in the future being used.

3. KITT can identify the attackers' weapons and the ammo remaining but cannot do anything about it? Like jam them with an invisible magnetic field or something?

4. They need to zoom in on the lower left part of the HUD so we can see the gauges better other than the speedometer!

The HUD looks Awesome! I can't find anything I'd nitpick as I really like how that is all done. I wish I had that on my car!

if you had this on your car, you need also a AI, than drives it... cause you don't see the road anymore

i'think it is a little bit to overloadet...

and i miss the 'console' screen from the movie

why is there now the standart-equipment of the mustang?

see here...

I would have been nice to of also had the console from the BDP incorparated into the dash.
But I like what they've done with the HUD, and i can deal with it...

To a certain extent, the HUD dials are a fictional creation (by me and my team), but we have based everything in reality. A few of them are:

krSpeedometer - standard from 0-100 then it goes into hyperdrive x1 x2 x3 x4, outfitted with MPH and KPH
krTachometer - you get it
rVelocity - rotational velocity (in my imagination its a gauge of the friction of the tires to surface based on the rotation of said tires, it's how KITT auto-adjusts his systems to keep the ride smooth and anticipate danger with his tires)
krRotator - this is a 360 degree rotational scan of KITTs systems
krSatBlipper - quite simply an overhead view triangulation that can scan for danger
krCompass - in case KITT forgets which way is north lol

Those are the base models.

In the center you see the KR Shield display. You'll see this get some use down the line

There's losts more to - krSurveillance, krChat, krIdentityScan, and more.

It was my intention, when first starting this thing, to design a modular system, much like a conventional widgets system on the latest OSes. Why? Because it seems to make the most sense to me. I play too much World of Warcraft, where I am constantly installing AddOns! So I figured KITT would do that to. K.R. can always install new widgets, dials, systems, etc, and upgrade the old ones. Also, things need to be able to fly around and reconfigure at an instant.

Really the main criticism I have heard is that there's too much in front of the driver. At first I agreed, but then thinking about it, KITT is a great driver, and a smart kid, so he puts the windows in the best place to convey the info as fast as possible... as you will see in future episodes, the HUD builds and shrinks as needed, at one point even going away for a bit. One thing I like coming up is the use of the HUD on some super realistic driving footage (not green screen)... I can't say much, but I'm really digging it. And as we at VFX, so too does the HUD get even better. We really love the details.

As for the analog dials - I think it's cool that KITT can be completely disguised as a normal car. If an enemy were to enter, they'd find little to really discover KITTs identity. Also, in the event that the HUD went off line for some dangerous reason, there are analogue back ups of the primary essentials.

Attached is something for you - sorry its not the other dials, I only have permission to show you what is already clearly prominent in the show. For the picky out there, it would technically be 611.5 kph, which rounded up would be 612. the reason it's at 611 is due to the math and the exact precision of the MPH (which is being rounded down). It really works, trust me

PS - can the car go 380? the world may never know... but my computer program that makes the dial can make it go 380

Just a quick question in the 2 hour movie
when the computer had to be turned off the
nanotech doesnt work is that still the case
when the HUD has to be turned off as well?

Zoostory, that is SO COOL! Thanks for answering a lot of my questions, now I love the HUD even more. Maybe someday you can team up with some automakers to create a real-life in-dash visuals from this one. You might want to look at this product from PIONEER:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ ... s/AVG-VDP1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





This is an actual, real life product, albeit one that's very expensive ($400!). If you can make something like this with your KR design then I'd be a very happy Knight Rider fan, as this will be immensely cooler than the MIO GPS

WOA That is AWESOME! But I think for 400, one could get a car PC and load it with Linux and stuff. But this is cool! If they had a way to have it feed to a HUD instead of a A/V monitor, that would definitely rock!

hardy wrote:if you had this on your car, you need also a AI, than drives it... cause you don't see the road anymore

i'think it is a little bit to overloadet...

and i miss the 'console' screen from the movie

Yeah man I know what you mean, the HUD is showing a little bit too much in the driver's way.

why is there now the standart-equipment of the mustang?

see here...

[pic showing analog gauges)

YES I ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!!!!

argh WHY can't they replace them???????

Many drivers think analog gauge is better, but I am against them (note that I have never driven a car and don't have a license. I have driven a nuclear submarine however...lol).

Yes, analog shows you trends easier, BUT you have to estimate what the current reading is.

With digital you have the EXACT reading displayed, and if you want, you can also have a dial type display that shows the trend/level (is your speed increasing rapidly? etc)

--Brian

Hmmm... maybe put the KR HUD Tachometer and Speedometer dials in the place of the original Analog dials like they did in the 2-hour pilot? I think I have an idea, in that when KITT is active, the original analog dials are 'overlayed' with digital dials 'projected' on it. When KITT is inactive or it needs to go into disguise, the 'overlay' is then shut off so you can see the original analog dials. So, to put it simply, KITT On: show digital dials in the place of the analogs - KITT Off: turn off the digital dials, show analogs. That shouldn't be too hard to do, I think. Better than leaving the tachometer at 12 o clock anyway.

What do you think about this, Zoostory?

BlueChaos wrote:Hmmm... maybe put the KR HUD Tachometer and Speedometer dials in the place of the original Analog dials like they did in the 2-hour pilot? I think I have an idea, in that when KITT is active, the original analog dials are 'overlayed' with digital dials 'projected' on it. When KITT is inactive or it needs to go into disguise, the 'overlay' is then shut off so you can see the original analog dials. So, to put it simply, KITT On: show digital dials in the place of the analogs - KITT Off: turn off the digital dials, show analogs. That shouldn't be too hard to do, I think. Better than leaving the tachometer at 12 o clock anyway.

That would be better ....but really, there should be a digital dashboard area where the speedometer and tachometer normally would be, and below that, MUCH SMALLER analog instruments that operate in case of severe power failure.

Although part of the point of the digital dashboard would be that it is separate from the computer which executes the KITT application. So loss of the main computer would not affect the digital dashboard. Although that concept might be over the heads of some viewers I guess.

One thing is...in an aircraft, the HUD is not for information that you read. The HUD frames objects in your field of view. For example, a lock on symbol that is positioned such that, if you're behind the enemy aircraft, the lock on symbol will frame the enemy aircraft. You don't normally see a HUD that displays large airspeed indicators; that's what the instrument panel is for.

--Brian

Observe this video from (I assume) a USAF F-16 aircraft...

WARNING: THIS VIDEO SHOWS A BOMB BEING DROPPED ON HUMAN BEINGS. THEY ARE ALL COMBATANT BAD GUYS BUT STILL, BE AWARE.

F-16 video with HUD

here is a video where the HUD is actually more clear. this is a USAF A-10 it's a plane that is designed to fly low and provide close air support. nobody killed in this video from what I can see...

A-10 HUD in action

I show these to show a real aircraft hud...note the brevity of the HUD display. That's why I say, you want digital dashboard because you need to be able to see indications without asking KITT to display them.

Note I am not saying that the windshield HUD is bad. I think it's awesome. I just think there need to be more digital readouts, buttons etc. on the dashboard, for various reasons. imho!

--Brian

Being a car guy though, I love analog gauges. I'm not totally against digital, I like it to, and being a graphic designer, new things always intrigue me.

I would love to have a HUD system in cars that would display information and it would be perfect with digital gauges up front in view for you to see. But I look at analog in a practical sense in that they've been around a very long time and rarely fail... digital is more prone to having malfunctions, even though it rarely happens, the fact is, with complete digital you're sunk if they do fail. With analog back ups, then you still have some idea of how the car is responding and what not. Which is why I love that KITT has them. It really seems that some work went in to the thought process of how he functions. If his digital connection is lost, then what is he to do... at least you can still check your speed, fuel, oil and what not.

This is also one of the things that I hate about the iPhone. Being a Mac user... I'm still lenient on buying the iPhone. Why? The touch screen. If it ever fails, what are you to do? Nothing, it's just a high dollar machine that can't be used. If you had numerical buttons, at least in some way you could still operate, even if the screen was blank.

Same thing applies to GPS systems... they make life easier to get around with... but what if you are in an area without signal, or you lose batter power and can't plug it in... you better be able to read a road map. (And on a trip, never forget to take a good ole Rand McNally map... just in case... lol!)

Anyway that's my 2 cents...