Continental develops digital rear-view mirror without split screen

“Instead of a one-to-one imitation of the traditional mirror, we’re now exploiting the full potential of camera monitor systems,” explains Dr. Michael Ruf, Head of the Commercial Vehicles & Aftermarket Business Unit at Continental. “Thanks to the Merged View display, the driver has an even better overview of the current traffic situation. This comprehensive visual check makes a major contribution to anticipatory driving and helps prevent accidents. One major advantage of the previous version has been retained – reduced air resistance, meaning up to two percent less fuel consumption,” he added.

In the ProViu Mirror system, two cameras are mounted on each side of the vehicle, covering the areas of the main side-view, wide-angle and close-range mirrors. The images are transmitted to two displays on the right and left sides of the A-pillar in the cabin, so the camera images are permanently in the user’s line of vision.

Until now, the different fields of view captured by the cameras were displayed as individual images, one above the other. In the new version, the developers at Continental have merged the fields of view into one single image on the display, so the driver can always see the entire vehicle environment. The danger caused by not looking at a relevant field of view at the right time and overlooking other road users or obstacles as a result is therefore reduced. The new displays are larger and have an aspect ratio of 16:9. Continental has also continued to improve the image presentation: Thanks to full HD resolution, the images that the driver sees are now even more contrast-rich and detailed. The displays on the A-pillar can be optionally supplemented by a central display on the instrument panel that shows the area of the front mirror.