Common Machines

Instrument clusters are most closely associated with automobiles, but they are also used on any other type of moving vehicle as well as every type of air transportation, boats and ships, farm machinery, construction machinery, factory machinery, electric generators and even large telescopes.

Cars

The instrument cluster on a car is on the dashboard and generally includes a speedometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, odometer, oil pressure gauge and all manner of warning lights.

Airplanes

Airplanes use many of the same or similar instruments, plus many more, such as an altimeter, which displays the plane's altitude. In extreme cases of low visibility, pilots are capable of landing an airplane while using just the information from their instrument clusters.

Types of Displays

The displays in an instrument cluster can be digital or analog. Most digital displays show numbers for the readout. An analog display has a small arm that moves to give the reading.

Lights

Instrument clusters are usually lit up by light-emitting diodes, which are small lights made of materials that glow when an electrical current is applied to them.

Source:

Lighting Research Center: Lighting and Driving

Gemini Observatory: Multi-Instrument Nights at Gemini North and South

University of Michigan: Practical Aspects of Protoyping Instrument Clusters