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Digital mirrors improve safety, efficiency and comfort.
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Enhanced safety thanks to a wider field of vision for both passenger cars and commercial and special vehicles.
Hanover, Germany, July 9, 2015. Camera technologies are increasingly finding their way into a very wide range of vehicle classes. For the first time the international automotive supplier
Continental used a prototype vehicle to demonstrate how a camera monitor system can replace a car’s exterior and interior mirrors. Three cameras from Continental’s product range are installed inside the test vehicle, and a different aperture angle is the technical difference between these and the Surround View cameras. Instead of the rear-view mirror, the driver has two monitors with organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) oriented in the usual viewing directions and displaying what is happening at the rear and sides of the vehicle. In addition to giving the driver a wider field of vision, the system eliminates glare, provides traffic situation detection with driver assistance functions, is much less susceptible to dirt and dust, makes damaged wing mirrors a thing of the past and gives drivers better vision in poor light and rain. Vehicle fuel consumption is also reduced
(less wind resistance) and there is less noise from the wind.
“There are no blind spots in this camera monitor system. The effects of unwanted optical phenomena such as glare and weak light can also be compensated”, said Alfred Eckert, Director of the Advanced Engineering department in Continental’s Chassis & Safety Division. “By eliminating the wing mirrors, we have created a n additional benefit, because the vehicle’s air resistance is reduced. The low c w value (drag coefficient) reduces fuel consumption and wind flow noise at higher speeds is diminished.” Unlike conventional car mirrors, the traffic situation is displayed indirectly using a camera, thus glare caused by low sun and by vehicles with their headlights on high beam is avoided. To provide the best possible display of the lighting conditions on the monitors, the cameras are equipped with a High Dynamic Range (HDR) function that reduces a bright sun, for example, to a white surface without flare. HDR also improves visibility at dusk.
Contact:
Miriam Baum, Phone: +49 69 7603 9510 / Ilona Tzudnowski, Phone: +49 6196 87 2515
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The coated lenses of the wing cameras are less sensitive than conventional mirrors and have a smaller surface area where dirt and dust would normally collect. This improves the rear view even in bad weather. A cleaning function for the rear view camera lens is currently being developed.
With its digital “mirroring” as presented, Continental implements the requirements for conventional mirr or classes I and III, but the system goes further than this primary basic function. “Instead of the mechanical mirror, we rely on a driver-oriented and holistic human-machine interface (HMI) that not only creates better visibility conditions, but also opens up the possibility of providing situational instructions on the monitors,” said Dr. Otmar Schreiner, Head of Research & Development at
Interior Electronics Solutions in Continental’s Interior Division. If the approval of these cameramonitor systems goes through as planned in 2016, the systems could already be in use in vehicles starting in 2018. The relevant and internationally agreed technical regulation is UNECE R46
(United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 46).
Unobstructed view without physical contortions
The adaptation of the wing cameras to the chassis was achieved using small, pyramid-shaped housings in the window triangle. The third camera is unobtrusively integrated into the mirror base of the GPS antenna on the roof. The image processing system uses the images created by the three cameras to stitch together a corresponding image for each monitor. In addition to the usual mirror images, the driver’s field of vision is also expanded by areas he could not normally see. For instance, he can use different picture modes to get a view of the side and the rear of his own vehicle. Combined with suitable orientation, this image stitching (joining of the images) prevents any gap in the field of view, especially the accident-prone blind spots of conventional mirrors.
Instead of the usual wing and rearview mirror images, the camera images are displayed on OLED monitors developed by Continental. Thanks to Continental’s own coating technology, this energysaving monitor system is impervious to direct light, ensuring consistent readability of the monitors.
The OLED displays are crystal-clear and consume less power than conventional displays.
In addition to the better view, the elimination of the wing mirrors also has a positive effect on the c w value, which means less fuel consumption as well as better vehicle interior acoustics. The reduced width of the vehicle also makes it easier for drivers to use the left lane in tight two-lane road construction zones.
Contact:
Miriam Baum, Phone: +49 69 7603 9510 / Ilona Tzudnowski, Phone: +49 6196 87 2515
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Versatile future uses for the digital mirror
“The camera monitor system can also create more benefits for the driver than just mirror replacement”, said Marc Simon, project leader for Mirror Replacement in the Chassis & Safety
Division’s Advanced Engineering department. Unlike conventional mirrors, digital mirrors also ensure a real improvement in traffic management thanks to the use of mono-camera-based object recognition and classification as a basis for advanced driver assistance systems functions. Critical vehicles, speeds and distances are displayed on the monitor at dusk and at high speeds, for example, which enables the driver to make decisions about maneuvers more easily.
In a holistic HMI, where the existing hardware and software can be dynamically adapted to the driver’s needs by networking, digital mirrors expand the possibilities of assisting the driver. They can increase the “situational awareness” of events in the traffic environment, for instance. Initial field trials and a Continental-own study have shown that digital mirrors are preferred to conventional models. Human testers found in particular that these images were easy to perceive and that the entire system was attractive to use.
Cameras as wing mirror replacements in commercial and special vehicles
Concerning commercial and special vehicles there are specific regulations. The wing mirror replacement must cover mirror classes II and IV. For it, Continental offers with ProViuMirror an own solution with a camera monitor system for the right and left side of the vehicle. Two cameras replace the wing mirrors on each side of the vehicle and transfer the images to 12.3 inch displays
(1,920 x 720 pixel). They are mounted on the left and right of the A-pillar inside the cab. Through the abolition of the huge wing mirrors the visible area to the sideways front is clearly improved.
Furthermore, the solution developed by the business unit Commercial Vehicles & Aftermarket enhances driving safety and reduces fuel consumption at the same time.
Contact:
Miriam Baum, Phone: +49 69 7603 9510 / Ilona Tzudnowski, Phone: +49 6196 87 2515
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Continental develops intelligent technologies for transporting people and their goods. As a reliable partner, the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner provides sustainable, safe, comfortable, individual, and affordable solutions. In 2014, the corporation generated sales of approximately
€34.5 billion with its five divisions, Chassis & Safety, Interior, Powertrain, Tire, and ContiTech. Continental currently employs approximately 200,000 people in 53 countries.
The Chassis & Safety division develops and produces integrated active and passive driving safety technologies as well as products that support vehicle dynamics. The product portfolio ranges from electronic and hydraulic brake and chassis control systems to sensors, advanced driver assistance systems, airbag electronics and sensorics as well as electronic air suspension systems all the way to windscreen washer systems and headlight cleaning nozzles. The focus lies on a high level of system competence and the networking of individual components. Thus products and system functions are developed along the
SensePlanAct chain of effects. They form the foundation for automated driving. Chassis & Safety employs more than 38,000 people worldwide and generated sales of approximately €7.5 billion in 2014.
Information management in and beyond the vehicle is at the very heart of the Interior division. The product portfolio for different types of vehicles includes: instrument clusters, multifunctional and head-up displays, control units, access control and tire-information systems, radios, infotainment systems, input devices, control panels, climate control units, software, cockpits as well as services and solutions for telematics and
Intelligent Transportation Systems. The Interior division employs more than 36,000 people worldwide and generated preliminary sales of approximately €7 billion in 2014.
Contact for Journalists
Miriam Baum
External Communications
Continental
Chassis & Safety Division
Guerickestraße 7
60488 Frankfurt am Main
Phone: +49 69 7603-9510
Fax: +49 69 7603-3945
E-Mail: miriam.baum@continentalcorporation.com www.continental-automotive.com
Ilona Tzudnowski
External Communications
Continental
Interior Division
Sodener Straße 6
65824 Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 87-2515
Fax: +49 6196 8779-2515
E-Mail: ilona.tzudnowski@continentalcorporation.com
This press release is available in the following languages: German, English
Links www.continental-corporation.com
Online Media Database: www.continental-mediacenter.com
Contact:
Miriam Baum, Phone: +49 69 7603 9510 / Ilona Tzudnowski, Phone: +49 6196 87 2515