Distance Announces Collaboration with Kia Integrating New Panoramic Lightfield HUD into the Kia Vision Meta Turismo Concept Car

Kia Becomes the First Consumer Automotive Vendor to Integrate Distance’s Next-Generation Lightfield Display Technology; Kia’s Vision for Human-Machine Digital Interaction Enables a New Class of Immersive Driver Experience

23 April, 2026 - Milan Design Week - Distance Technologies Oy (Helsinki) – the pioneering developer of glasses-free XR and next-generation lightfield display technology for automotive, aerospace and defence applications – today announced its new collaboration with industry-leading sustainable mobility solutions provider Kia Corporation (Seoul) at the Milan Design Week.

Kia has taken the pole position as the first consumer auto company to integrate the Distance panoramic lightfield Head-Up Display (HUD), marking the first time this immersive breakthrough in computational optics can be seen in an automotive application previewing future consumer technology.

Specifically, Kia has integrated the technology into the Kia Vision Meta Turismo concept car, which is being shown for the first time outside of Korea. Kia is presenting the Vision Meta Turismo as a concept embodying its vision for future mobility through the combination of dynamic driving sensation and human-centered design. It was first unveiled in connection with Kia’s 80th anniversary event in Korea in December of 2025.

Created and pioneered by Distance, this version of the company’s heralded lightfield HUD technology was developed in collaboration with Kia’s design team for seamless integration into the Kia Vision Meta Turismo. Designed as an exploration of the future of in-vehicle human-machine digital interaction, the Kia Vision Meta Turismo is designed to fuse the intelligence of the modern car with the natural perception of the driver into closer alignment. This was accomplished through a spatially immersive visual experience embedded directly into the windshield environment that is the result of years of research and development by Distance.

The final design is a true edge-to-edge lightfield HUD with infinite pixel depth, stretching across the entirety of the windshield. It can present both essential driving information and new visual cues directly integrated into the surrounding environment, as opposed to a separate flat display layer. By rendering digital content with natural spatial depth, the system creates a more intuitive and immersive 3D driver experience without requiring headsets, goggles or other wearable hardware.

In the Vision Meta Turismo concept, the Distance lightfield HUD reveals how visual intelligence can unfold as an exploration of the vehicle’s surroundings, allowing relevant information to appear more seamlessly integrated into the driver’s field of view. 

This concept application represents a future-facing model of automotive interaction in which immersive visual computing enhances awareness, engagement and the relationship between vehicle and driver.

“The Vision Meta Turismo concept embodies Kia’s vision for future mobility by integrating dynamic performance, human centered design and advanced digital interaction,” said Oliver Samson, Senior Chief Designer at Kia’s European Design Center. “Our collaboration with Distance Technologies allowed us to explore how next generation lightfield HUD technology can become a seamless part of a more immersive, spatially coherent driving experience. This is not simply about adding information to the windshield — it’s about redefining how digital intelligence can be integrated into the vehicle in a way that feels intuitive, refined and aligned with the future vision of automotive design at Kia.”

“This announcement is a significant milestone for the entire automotive industry, as our new computational optics solution bridges the massive gap between two centuries: a slab of glass as a windshield vs. a see-through portal for visual intelligence that perfectly fuses physical and digital worlds,” said Urho Konttori, CEO and co-founder of Distance Technologies. “Together with Kia, we are showcasing a new class of panoramic lightfield HUD experience that brings machine intelligence and human perception closer together in a way that feels natural, spatial and immediate. We are proud to collaborate with a partner that has shown both the innovation capability and the design ambition to explore what the future of driver experience can become.”

Distance’s technology is currently applied only to the concept vehicle - application to a production vehicle has not been officially announced as of this announcement date. 

About Distance Technologies
Distance Technologies™ Oy is a pioneering developer of glasses-free XR, lightfield display systems and contextual visual intelligence for automotive, aerospace and defence applications. Distance technology transforms transparent surfaces such as windshields, windows and other optics into immersive mixed reality experiences with natural depth, high fidelity and no wearable hardware required. The company’s platform is designed to bring digital intelligence seamlessly into the real world for the next generation of human-machine interaction.