Hardcore car enthusiasts have a difficult time letting go of certain old-school technology like manual transmissions, even though it’s been proven that a cutting-edge automatic gearbox can shift as smooth and fast as any human. But I doubt that most motorists miss, say, crank windows or manual steering.
The venerable side mirror could be the next vehicle feature to get relegated to the dust bin, and its demise may be overdue since new and better solutions now exist.
“There’s significant noise reduction, and there’s potential for CO2 reduction because of reduced drag and improved fuel economy,” Dean McConnell, director of customer programs for advanced driver assistance systems at automotive supplier Continental, told Quain. More importantly, “there’s also the increased field of view” that camera-based systems provide, McConnell added.
Continental replaced the side mirrors on a Mercedes-Benz CLS with thumb-sized video cameras that are tied into screens on the left and right side of the dashboard near where a driver would typically glance to check a mirror. The camera view is much broader than a physical mirror provides and eliminates blind spots. And unlike mirrors, cameras and software can also automatically adjust what a driver sees to reduce glare in bright sunlight or increase brightness at night.
Audi plans to add a camera-based rearview mirror to its R8 e-tron coupethat provides drivers with a better view of what’s behind, in part because the aerodynamic design of the vehicle reduces rear visibility. And Cadillac will add video camera capability to the review mirror of the 2016 CT6 to eliminate traditional blind spots by seeing through obstructions like passengers, headrests and the vehicle’s rear pillars.
Automakers are already augmenting side and rearview mirrors with cameras. Honda’s LaneWatch feature, for example, uses a camera embedded in the passenger-side exterior mirror to show a wide-angle view on the dashboard display of the right lane whenever the right turn signal is activated. LaneWatch also shows when a driver has enough space to merge into the right lane after passing a vehicle by using virtual makers.
Read more of the original article in Forbes.
