It's 2017, and we still don't have commercial flying cars, affordable jet-packs, or even automated package delivery. But thanks to HUDWAY, at least one sci-fi mainstay has made its way into the consumer market. Today the company launched a Kickstarter for its newest product, an affordable heads-up display called the HUDWAY Cast.

If you can remember as far back as 2015, you might have seen HUDWAY's other heads-up display solution, the HUDWAY Glass, which soundly smashed its Kickstarter goal at 600% funding. Unlike the Glass, which was basically just a mirror for your phone's display, the Cast is a full remote display. You don't need to toss your phone on the dash and risk it flying off at a sudden stop or accident. Instead, it connects to the HUDWAY Glass wirelessly. That also means you don't have to worry about the limits of your phone's display in sunlight.

Installing the Cast is allegedly as easy as affixing it to your dash, and plugging it in. It connects to any smartphone and works with any app, which presumably includes Android Auto, Google Maps, and Waze. That might pose a danger to people who elect to put up something a bit more distracting, but that's up to the responsibility of the driver.

HUDWAY also made their own app for the Cast, meant to provide you with quick and useful shortcuts and tools which you can operate without distraction. Android users get navigation, incoming and outgoing call support, messaging, music, location sharing, and a series of dashboard widgets and gestures. So if you toss your phone on a mount, with a few quick taps you can bring up navigation on your HUDWAY Cast, route home, spin on some tunes, and let people know your ETA.

The HUDWAY Cast is only $199, which isn't too much considering what it is. A few lucky early birds can even pick one up for just $179. Post-Kickstarter, the retail price will be $250, so keep in mind that you might have to pay a bit more if you don't want to jump on early.

I've been burned by a few Kickstarter projects in the past, but HUDWAY has a history of delivering. Fast Company even named them one of the 10 most innovative in the automotive space. I'll be honest, I'm sort of interested in picking one up myself. Who doesn't want to live in a sci-fi future?

Source: Kickstarter