Mercedes and Bosch have developed a ‘SplitView’ TFT display screen that uses different viewing angles to display two different programs on one monitor simultaneously.
Mercedes says the “SplitView” display developed in cooperation by Mercedes-Benz and Bosch for the Mercedes E Class models provides additional functionality and more infotainment convenience in the vehicle. This makes it possible to display two different programs on one monitor, whereby it’s the viewing angle that determines which of the two programs can be seen on the display. The driver, for example, can track the visual navigation information, while the front-seat passenger can choose a different entertainment program – i.e. watch video films, look at the playlist for the iPod or at the radio menu on the same screen.
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In other words, two different programs run on a single monitor. If desired, the front-seat passenger can use headphones to listen to the sound of an entertainment program, for example, without disturbing the driver. The display can also be optionally operated in single mode so that the driver and the front-seat passenger see the same screen.
The “SplitView” monitor consists of a backlit color active-matrix display (TFT-LCD: Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) and a special mask that is laid over the liquid crystal layer. The images for the viewing angle from the right and the left are shown at the same time, but are specifically distributed on adjacent pixel columns. Depending on the viewing angle, the mask shows only those pixel columns that make up the right or the left picture. As a result, the viewer sees an image composed of every second pixel so that the horizontal display resolution is cut in half. A patented software algorithm “is the guarantee for a brilliant picture whatever the viewing angle”.
Bosch says that “SplitView” offers double functionality where only a single display was available to date. This eliminates the need to install a second monitor in the vehicle, which would prove difficult in most cases anyway as far as space and safety are concerned; the “SplitView” unit takes up no more space than a conventional monitor.
In addition to the innovative, optionally available “SplitView” technology, Bosch also supplies the new E Class with automotive technology for gasoline and diesel engines, with energy-efficient start/stop technology and with ESP, the Electronic Stability Program.
