Vehicle display control apparatus and vehicle display control method

A vehicle display control apparatus that controls a display device which is installed in a vehicle and which, by projecting an image onto a display medium, superimposes the image over a scene in front of the vehicle to cause a driver to see a superimposed image as a virtual image, the vehicle display control apparatus comprising:

• an obstruction detector that, based on a result of detection by an obstruction sensor that detects an obstruction present in a periphery of the vehicle, detects obstruction information including a relative position and a relative speed of the obstruction relative to the vehicle;
• an important information determiner that obtains information including the periphery of the vehicle and a state of the vehicle, and detects, as important information, information that is to be communicated to the driver preferentially over the obstruction information detected by the obstruction detector;
• and
• a display controller that (i) when the obstruction sensor is operating, converts, into a virtual marker image, a detection target region which is contained within a detection range of the obstruction sensor and which extends from the vehicle to the periphery of the vehicle along a road surface, and causes a virtual image to be displayed by superimposing the virtual marker image over the scene in front of the vehicle using the display device, (ii) when the relative position of the obstruction is within the detection target region, causes an image indicating a direction in which the obstruction is located to be displayed in a region of the virtual marker image in a direction based on the relative position of the obstruction, using the obstruction information, and (iii) when the important information is detected, converts the important information into a notification image and causes the notification image to be displayed at a predetermined position of the display medium using the display device,
• wherein when causing the virtual marker image and the notification image to be displayed simultaneously, the display controller changes a display format of at least one of the virtual marker image or the notification image.