"A digital side mirror provides enhanced visibility"
- PDF / 381,580 Bytes
- 4 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 57 Downloads / 161 Views
C OVER STORY INterv ie w
“A digital side mirror provides enhanced visibility” Lexus is one of the first three car manufacturers in Germany to offer a digital exterior mirror for its ES 300h sedan model. In the interview, we spoke to Kazuhito Imaizumi, Project Manager at Lexus, about the special challenges in development and how the system reacts when the camera lenses become dirty.
ATZ _ Imaizumi-san, how long has
Toyota been dealing with the subject of cameras as exterior mirrors?
Counting from the stage of basic research, development took nearly eight years. We began basic research in 2010 and exhibited an advanced technology at an international auto show in North America in 2012. After surveying IMAIZUMI _
22
issues related to laws and regulations, we conducted research and development aimed at commercialization from 2014 to 2016. In the second half of 2016, we then kicked off a project for using a digital side mirror system on the Lexus ES, which is an actual production model. From around the spring of 2017, we t ransitioned into full-scale development.
Market launch of the system installed on the ES was scheduled for October 2018 – in time with the start of sales of the redesigned model in Japan. In essence, our development time of less than two years was short. What objectives did you want to achieve with the new mirror system?
Development was carried out with the following three objectives in mind: As opposed to the use of conventional optical mirrors, use interior displays to reduce movement in the driver’s line of sight when the driver confirms the situation to the left and right of the vehicle and to lessen driver burden. In line with the situation, reduce blind spots by displaying a wide-angle view through the operation of the turning signal lever or the operation of a switch. As opposed to the situation in the case of conventional glass mirrors, contribute to a larger field of vision for forward views from the side windows and reduce blind spots by using cameras reduced in size. Furthermore, enhance the degree of freedom in vehicle styling. For optimal image display in line with weather conditions and exterior brightness, use cameras that cannot get wet easily, as well as cameras and displays with automatic brightness control. What were the greatest technical challenges during development?
Since we were dealing with completely new technologies, there were several challenges. But, among them, I would say that one difficulty was how to produce an image on a display when the vehicle was in a dark place that had certain areas that were bright. For example, near a daylight window in dark multi-story parking garages or when another vehicle’s headlights at night shine directly onto the camera, within a single display image, there are certain points that are brighter than their surroundings. In such situaATZ worldwide 11|2020
tions, different from only switching between daytime and nighttime sensitivity, if sensitivity is adjusted to match the encompassing dark areas, the light from the brig
Data Loading...
