The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has approved General Motors’ camera-based hybrid rearview mirror.
Due to launch in the Cadillac CT6 before making its way to other GM vehicles, including the Cadillac XT5 and Chevrolet Bolt, the Rear Camera Mirror uses a high-dynamic-range camera feed to reduce glare and provide a better image in low-light situations.
The camera feed is presented on a 1280×240 in-mirror LCD display with 171 pixels per inch, providing an estimated 300 percent improvement in the rear-view field of vision.
“The closest comparison to this kind of rear vision would be driving a convertible with the top down,” said Cadillac CT6 executive chief engineer, Travis Hester. “In addition to the increased field of view, the technology eliminates any rear seat, rear pillar or passenger obstructions, allowing the driver an unimpeded view of the lanes behind and traditional blind-spots.”
The camera lens is treated with a water-shedding hydrophobic coating to help maintain visibility in poor weather conditions. If the lens does get coated in grime, drivers can simply flip a toggle to revert to a traditional rearview mirror.
GM had asked the NHTSA to clarify federal safety guidelines related to rearview mirror systems.
“While the Full Display Mirror is an item of motor vehicle equipment that performs additional driver activated functions, we do not believe that the fact that it performs such functions alters its basic identity as an item that includes an ‘inside rearview mirror of unit magnification,” the agency wrote in its response, according Twitter post from Transportation Department Secretary Anthony Foxx.
The agency’s warming to hybrid rearview mirrors has not yet extended to camera-based side mirrors. Automakers are currently pushing to replace side mirrors with more aerodynamic and stylish camera systems, however the government has not yet dropped its requirement for traditional physical mirrors.
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