The humble rearview mirror has become a hot-bed of electronic wizardry, incorporating a variety of novel features. Matthew Beecham looks back at some innovations in the mirror department.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Given that a driver typically looks at the interior mirror once every 15 seconds, it would seem the ideal location to display a variety of information. Compasses and temperature displays, remote keyless entry receivers, trip function displays, telematics capabilities and microphones are all typical of the added-value functions found in today’s mirrors.
By far the most promising added-value rearview mirror technology to date is auto-dimming — reducing headlamp glare from following traffic. During nighttime driving, the mirrors use a clever combination of sensors and electronic circuitry to detect glare from rearward approaching vehicles and darken accordingly to eliminate the glare and protect driver vision.
Interior auto-dimming mirrors are already standard equipment or factory-installed options on a number of vehicles ranging from the Cadillac Escalade to the Toyota Corolla and the BMW 7 Series to the VW Polo. Exterior auto-dimming mirrors are also standard equipment or optional fitment on certain trim levels on a range of vehicles, including some Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, VW and BMW models.
Opinions are divided, however, in terms of when the auto-dimming market will plateau. While some mirror makers believe that interior auto-dimming fitment levels could reach 50% given the introduction of cheaper technology, others believe that the market has already leveled out.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataFigure 1
Before and after: One of the promising growth areas in the mirror sector across North America, Europe and now Japan is the auto-dimming function.
Source: Gentex.
Meanwhile, the power-folding mirror market is blossoming. In the US, power-folding mirrors are increasingly applied to large SUVs in order help garage the vehicle. In Japan, the use of power-folding mirrors is also popular.
As with other ‘value-added’ automotive technology, innovations are typically introduced in the premium segment and subsequently appear in the high-volume segment as awareness of these products and their usage increases. For example, Schefenacker’s exterior rearview mirror with integrated turn signal designed initially for Mercedes-Benz in 1998 has since been adopted by many carmakers on a number of vehicle programmes such as Volkswagen in the Golf V. Schefenacker estimates that about 9.5 million new cars annually are fitted with mirror integrated turn signals, of which roughly three-quarters feature LEDs. The German mirror maker predicts global installation of turn signals will reach 13 million by 2007 with a proportionate rise in the application of LEDs. “While carmakers are demanding ever more innovative LED turn signal applications, those solutions must be cost-efficient.” said Alf Liesener, Marketing Manager, Schefenacker AG. “The in-house development and production of customized LEDs for automotive applications at Schefenacker’s subsidiary Global Light Industries G.L.I. allow the generation of distinguished solutions for LED turn signal units with numerous advantages regarding package size, durability, weight and cost”.
Audi used this year’s Frankfurt motor show to showcase its first SUV, the Q7. Audi’s feature-packed exterior rearview mirrors, designed by Schefenacker, includes LED turn signals and a hazard light of a lane assist system. Audi’s Side Assist System alerts the driver of potential problems through a yellow LED signal lamp integrated in the exterior rearview mirror. Using customised optics, the signals can only be seen by the driver.
Meanwhile, Gentex has developed a high-beam control feature designed to automatically dip a driver’s headlights whenever required. The system uses a light-seeking camera tucked inside the rearview mirror housing to monitor the road for up to 1,000 metres ahead. To activate the system the driver need only turn the headlight switch to the automatic position and leave the high beam/low beam headlight stalk pushed forward to high. A light in the instrument binnacle tells the driver it is operational. During 2004, Gentex began shipping auto-dimming mirrors with its so-called SmartBeam on the Cadillac STS and Jeep Grand Cherokee as optional equipment. Option (take-up) rates were in the 25 – 30% range on the 2005 models. The company has begun shipping for the 2006 Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, and the Cadillac DTS. Gentex will also supply the unit for the Chrysler 300c SRT8. In Europe, Gentex will supply its SmartBeam for the BMW 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series models, marking the technology’s first appearance in the region. BMW is marketing the system as ‘high beam assistant.’ Option rates are expected to be 40 – 45% on those models.
In explaining the background to SmartBeam’s launch, Garth Deur, CEO of Gentex Corp, said: “We are only at the very beginning of the SmartBeam product story. It was introduced a year ago on two vehicles for General Motors and Chrysler. The feedback we have received from our customers has been very positive. From an OE customer perspective it has been almost problem-free. Those customers have already committed that there would be many more SmartBeam programmes in the future. Last summer, BMW announced its intention to use SmartBeam on the 5-, 6- and 7-Series. What is interesting is that the Chrysler and General Motors applications were for the North American market only. We wanted to launch SmartBeam with customers whom we are very familiar with. We have been doing business with Chrysler and General Motors for more than 15 years. Their engineering groups are just a two-and-a-half hour drive from our engineering groups. So it is very easy for us to be with them every day. Our thought was that if we launched SmartBeam with a customer on another continent, there would be so many unique things that it would be very challenging for us to do it with the 6 or 12 hour time difference, language differences, and it would have been more difficult for us to be with them every day. So we very intentionally launched it in North America first. Now, BMW’s use of the SmartBeam will initially be for the European specification vehicles for those three platforms. BMW say they want to offer it in their home market where it is close to the marketing and engineering groups so that they can get a good feel for their customers’ reaction to this new technology. But we also believe there will be demand in all parts of the world for the technology because it makes so much common sense. People understand it intuitively.”
Although it sounds like an obvious innovation, Gentex says it took a long time to perfect the technology. Deur added: “An automatic high beam system was actually developed way back in the 1950s by General Motors. It was called Autronic Eye. But as it performed so poorly, it was soon dropped. So the issue isn’t that it is a remarkably new idea but about developing the technology that gives the driver confidence to leave it switched-on.”
In terms of novel use of alternative materials, US-based optical specialist VTEC Technologies has developed new materials and processes that make the mass manufacture of plastic exterior rearview mirrors economically feasible. Jeanne Housman, president, VTEC Technologies, explained the approach her company took. “The development effort took the approach of coming up with an alternative material that afforded the design engineer more latitude while addressing the goals of increased safety, weight reduction, end-of-life recyclability, as well as aesthetic and geometry option improvements. Acrylic and polycarbonate materials have undergone extensive developments and test evaluation to achieve automotive specification; inherent attributes have been expanded upon to meet weatherability and durability standards for automotive rearview mirror performance. Our plastic mirror also has the ability to enhance surface resolution and visibility by repelling rain and dirt with hydrophilicity; an added technological advantage along with the ability to provide tinted mirrors, reduce vibration, increased pedestrian and occupant safety, ECE R46 compliance, and a significant weight savings versus glass. Overall, the availability of our mirror product has opened new doors to the automotive, truck, and commercial vehicle markets. The capability of reducing process steps, reducing non-recyclable content, reducing manufacturing scrap, and increasing optical surface contour availability are options that were not previously available to the industry.”
Figure 2
VTEC Technologies’ mirror system
Source: VTEC Technologies
Recent technical advances in auto-dimming glass, signal mirrors, displays and novel use of materials suggest that, despite its apparent maturity, the rearview mirror market has significant opportunity for growth.
Today’s exterior rearview mirrors offer a number of features such as auto-dimming, electric in-car mirror adjustment with memory function, electric power-fold, heated glass, integrated turn signals and approach lights. As with other ‘value-added’ automotive technology, innovations are typic To find out more about this report, download your sample or to order your copy, please follow this link. |
ally introduced in the premium segment and subsequently appear in the high-volume segment as awareness of these products and their usage increases. For example, Schefenacker’s exterior rearview mirror with integrated turn signal designed initially for Mercedes-Benz in 1998, has since been adopted by Volkswagen in the Golf V.  |  |
