Bosch unveils smart virtual sun visor for cars at tech show

Bosch Sunday unveiled a virtual visor inspired by LCD televisions which uses AI to block the glare of the sun from a driver's eyes, a major cause of road accidents.

The Virtual Visor uses algorithms and a camera to analyze what the driver is seeing through its liquid crystal display and darkens the section through which the sunlight is hitting their eyes, the German engineering giant said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The rest of the display remains transparent, blocking the sun without obscuring a large section of the driver's field of vision.

"You could be driving right toward the sun and you would still be able to see adequately," said Jason Zink, one of the engineers on the project, as the company unveiled the product at the show that hosts around 4,500 exhibitors pitching designs to 175,000 attendees searching for innovations of the future.

Bosch cited studies including one from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicating sun glare is responsible for thousands of accidents each year.

Another study indicated the risk of a car crash is 16 percent higher when the sun is shining brightly.

Bosch said traditional sun visors were inadequate because they blocked a large area from the field of vision to remove glare.

"We discovered early in the development that users adjust their traditional sun visors to always cast a shadow on their own eyes," said Zink.

Ryan Todd, another Bosch engineer, said he thought of the idea "while driving east to work one morning" and thinking about television sets which control the brightness of LCD technology.

A Bosch spokesman said the company was in "active discussions" on commercializing the new visor but offered no details.

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

E-car sales in Norway reach new record high
Oslo (AFP) Jan 3, 2020
Sales of new electric cars in Norway hit a record high last year, sector experts said Friday, reaching 42.4 percent of all nearly-registered cars in 2019, mostly thanks to strong demand for Tesla's Model 3. Norway, a major oil producer that has pioneered electric mobility, offers a very advantageous tax regime for clean vehicles, making them highly competitive in cost terms against petrol and diesel vehicles. New e-car models arriving on the market should help push their share higher still this ... read more