Concept
Purpose of device:
- Allow the driver to see beyond the blind spot of the wind screen pillar
- Safely be able to pull out of parking spaces where the vehicle in front is too closely parked
- Show the way ahead where there is a wide obstruction in front of the vehicle so making it difficult for the driver to see ahead
- Change lanes on a duel carriageway or motorway when there is a lorry or truck in front and it is not possible to see if the way forward is clear to pull out or not
- Be retro fit-able
Other Known Methods
BMW
Are looking to developing a vehicle for the future, to use cameras instead of side mirrors.
SAMSUNG
Are looking to design their Lorries with very large screen on the back doors connected to a camera that is at the front of the vehicle so that the person behind them can know when it’s safe to overtake!
This is a very expensive method that only helps the people driving behind that vehicle and nobody else!! Especially when having to put on all wide vehicles, as many people/companies could not afford it and it does not overcome the visual restriction of when a normal width vehicle is too close!! Through our research other than what is stated in the “other known methods” pages, we have found nothing that will do what we are proposing.
HONDA
Have launched a new car (2019) beating BMW to it!! The concepts of both are only to see behind as conventional and not to see in front. Hence not addressing the problem and also making the change very expensive compared to the old mirror method of seeing behind you.
This method has a lot of disadvantages such as:
- Immense extra cost
- The additional two extra screens on the dash board are taking up a lot more space, whereas we can use the existing screen in the car (if it has one) or a simple TFT screen
- Since it’s electrical, multiple faults could occur (camera, wiring, display, etc.) which would not amount to a “do nothing” scenario
- It could stop working while on the road, making the rest of the journey very dangerous and illegal in many cases (if at all possible) if not fixed
- It has no backup in case it stops working, which is highly dangerous
- It would be too expensive and labour consuming to retro fit to old cars making it unethical, uneconomical and impractical