What's better than getting a Honda? Receiving Honda's Initiation Grant worth $50,000 of course!

Such is the reward of Tarek El Dokor, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Prescott, Ariz. campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, who is in the process of developing a hi-tech system of holographic instrument panel controls and displays.

The interactive holographic interface came out of Embry-Riddle's Machine Vision Lab, where Dokor heads research of advance machine perception and robotics applications, ranging from video games and unmanned aerial vehicles, to training programs and outdoor signage.

Professor Dokor's work was selected from 300 grant submissions and will be funded by Honda Initiation Grant as part of the automaker's long-term technological vision. Five other U.S. university professors also received funding from Honda.