Intelligent rearview mirror for the automotive market

Ficosa CEO, Javier Pujol, said: “This pioneering product is a significant example of the potential that the alliance with the Japanese multi-national offers to us.” In this sense, he added: “We continue to work with Panasonic to enhance our technological capabilities and to integrate complementary technologies in new key products, which will be the basis for the future of the automobile in connectivity, safety and efficiency.”

The intelligent interior mirror provides added value to the conventional mirror, enhancing the driving experience and increasing safety and driving comfort. This solution extends the rearward field of vision up to a value of 50° (more than double compared to a traditional mirror), which considerably reduces blind spots. It also attenuates the glare and improves visibility in low light areas.

The camera built into the intelligent mirror is digital and offers a high resolution image. Ficosa has the ability to integrate the camera in various locations of the car according to the preferences of automobile manufacturing companies, either inside or outside the vehicle. This system also includes a Panasonic LCD screen, which is located in the traditional structure of the interior mirror, being able to operate as a mirror or a display that transmits the razor sharp images that gathers from the camera.

The business unit director of Rear-view Systems, Mercedes Pujol, explained: “In Ficosa we have been working intensively for nine years in the electronic mirror (CMS) research and development, a fact that has given us a valuable know-how to develop IRMS, improving the features of the traditional rearview mirror.” She also underlined that, “the company offers as an added value the option to integrate into the rearview mirror the Smart Sensor & Camera Cleaning,” - a solution that automatically removes dirt from camera.

IRMS also has the ability to work split screen as a mirror and monitor simultaneously. In this operating mode it can also project the image of other devices integrated in the vehicle - parking cameras or even internal cameras to control children. Additionally, it will also allow the inclusion of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) in this vision system, giving information about surrounding vehicles to the driver.

Currently, Ficosa is already working with different car manufacturers on the integration of intelligent interior rearview mirror, customising it according to their requirements. It is expected that the regulation in this field will be approved in a European level by the middle of this year and it is foreseen that vehicles can circulate with this system integrated by the beginning of 2018.