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The automotive industry, which used to be a traditional dross, has given new vitality to the new demands of electronization, intellectualization, networking and sharing, and has also attracted more and more capital to start-ups of automotive science and technology. Traditional automotive mechanical components are constantly replaced by electronic components, such as hand brakes and EPB, mechanical tail doors and electric tail doors, and even some people exclaim that the automotive industry has ushered in the "iPhone moment"!

Today we're going to learn about a new trend product, the electronic rearview mirror.

The electronic rearview mirror is different from common rearview mirror and streaming media rearview mirror. The latter two are relatively simple mirror reflection and video recording mode based on camera and display. The function is simple. Under night conditions, there will be blurred picture, glare, picture distortion and so on. Moreover, the visual effect is poor in rainy days, which leads to accidents. The rate has increased considerably.

The electronic rearview mirror, which uses the photographic lens on both sides of the door to take the images on the left and right sides of the rear, and then transmits the images to the inside screen in real time, thus replacing the traditional rearview mirror. Compared with the traditional rearview mirror, the electronic rearview mirror also needs to reprocess the video picture and combine it with the body condition, so as to enhance the driving experience and safety.

Electronic rearview mirror global taster

A. commercial vehicle

At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2019, a new version of Mercedes-Benz Actros was unveiled, which is the first mass-produced truck to replace traditional rear-view mirrors and wide-angle mirrors with a camera system. This digital rearview mirror camera system is developed by Bosch and the world rearview mirror giant Meckland. It uses two screens of A pillar in the car and other screens to assist, which greatly improves the aerodynamic performance, safety and maneuverability of the truck. The system can provide 360 degree wide field of vision, and can effectively reduce wind resistance and reduce fuel consumption.

Stoneridge of the United States and Orlaco of the Netherlands have also cooperated to develop the electronic rearview mirror system. The former is mainly responsible for the integration of the whole system and products within the vehicle, while the latter is mainly responsible for the technical products outside the vehicle. It is said that this camera-based electronic rearview mirror product has been used in the vehicles of Neoplan Bus GmbH, a famous German bus manufacturer.

Henry Berlusco, president of Orlaco, said they hoped to improve road safety by using all possible technologies to help drivers in times of greatest need, such as bad weather and evenings, and were confident that with these products, the number of serious truck accidents would decline.

At present, the demand for electronic cameras is growing in the commercial vehicle market. Stonewich and Orlaco also hope to cooperate with large companies such as Volkswagen, Daimler and Peca Group.

B. passenger car

The world's first Full Display Mirror, developed by Mirror Thai, USA, was first sold on a Cadillac model in mass production as early as 2016. The product combines electrochromic technology with high-definition camera, and has dual-mode display mode. Drivers can automatically switch display mode according to driving habits, and dual-mode display also provides a backup solution for electronic system failure.

Audi's new energy vehicle, Audi e-tron, has a 7-inch OLED screen installed under the front window as a display screen for the electronic rearview mirror. The electronic rearview mirror has three pre-display modes, and can zoom in and out of the screen. It can display the pictures of vehicles in different states, such as driving, turning, parking and highway driving. It can also help drivers to collect the road conditions in blind areas as far as possible.

However, the world's first mass-produced vehicle equipped with an electronic rear-view mirror belongs to the next generation of Lexus ES 300. The scheme is that two 5.0-inch LCD screens replace the mirror of the traditional rearview mirror and are placed under the A-pillar (non-embedded, visually like the rear-loading product). The driver can operate the vehicle by observing the image information of the screen.

Necessity of Electronic Rearview Mirror Solution

Solve blind areas and ensure safer driving.

The so-called blind area refers to the area where the driver is situated in the normal driving seat and his sight is blocked by the car body and can not be observed directly. According to statistics, there are more than 200,000 traffic accidents in China every year. The biggest culprit is the blind area of vision, which can be called the first killer of traffic accidents.

How to avoid these blind areas is quite a headache. Rearview mirror can better reflect the situation of front and rear, side and so on. It is the driver's "second eye", directly related to driving safety. It is also an important research direction of the automobile industry in recent years. The purpose is to reduce the accident rate as much as possible through the technological progress of the automobile industry.

The traditional rearview mirror has some blind areas, and the field of vision is not large enough, especially for large trucks or off-road vehicles with high chassis. In addition, the rear view mirror has high wind resistance, high fuel consumption and noise. The electronic rearview mirror can not only eliminate the blind spot as far as possible, but also provide a broader vision. It does not need to worry about the rearview mirror being scratched and the wind resistance affecting fuel consumption. It also provides early warning through ADAS system or actively interferes with vehicle driving when necessary. Even in extreme road conditions such as evening or rainy days, high-definition electronic images in the car can ensure driving safety.

What are the obstacles to the popularization of electronic rearview mirror

In the face of safety, any obstacle is temporary!

Replacing rearview mirrors with cameras is currently optional in Europe and elsewhere in the world, but is currently not legal in the United States. The United Nations has passed a convention allowing cameras to be installed as rearview mirrors to improve fuel efficiency, but the United States has not yet passed it.

Earlier this year, however, the Federal Automobile Transportation Safety Agency (FMCSA) agreed with Stonewich to allow its applications to be exempted from the "parts and accessories required for safe operation" regulations. FMCSA granted the company a five-year exemption, allowing it to install a camera monitoring system in the rearview mirrors on both sides of the truck instead of the original rearview mirror equipment, so that its safety is the same as or even higher than the requirements of the above regulations.

As early as 2016, Japan took the lead in passing a new law to allow road without rearview mirror. In addition, EU is pushing forward the landing of laws and regulations. China's Intelligent Network Federation Standards Inquiry also pointed out that under the condition of "equal effect", the exploration work of eliminating rearview mirrors should be carried out.

As technology continues to update iteratively, more devices currently seen on cars may become unnecessary. Nowadays, mass-produced cars have been introduced to replace traditional rearview mirrors with photographic lenses, and many car brands are preparing to replace traditional rearview mirrors with photographic lenses.