2020 is already bringing some cool new tech to the auto industry. Not only did Bosch reveal a high-tech sun visor at CES 2020, but it earned the Best of Innovation award for it.
About the Virtual Visor
It’s called Virtual Visor. Despite the simplicity of this gadget’s name, the technology it relies on is quite nuanced. Per Car and Driver, the visor uses a clear LCD screen and an in-cabin RGB camera equipped with artificial intelligence. It depends on algorithms to sense the driver’s view and automatically darkens a portion of the visor when it detects sun glare is obstructing it.
Bosch software engineer Ryan Todd articulates one of the main hurdles the company faced in developing this futuristic sun visor. “The single most challenging aspect […] was nailing down an algorithm that can simultaneously track the driver’s face and track shadows cast on the driver’s face, then use that information to update the display state of the Virtual Visor so that the shadow will line up directly in between the user’s eyes and the sun.”
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Improved safety and rumors of a market release date
Bosch predicts that the device will have a huge impact on driver safety, reducing sun glare at challenging driving times like sunrise and sunset. According to Autoblog, the company’s research indicated that sun glare causes two times as many accidents as other weather-related conditions. And it will provide this shade while enhancing visibility since the visor stays approximately 90-percent transparent even when it’s at it’s strongest.
Though Bosch expressed pride in winning the Best of Innovation award at CES this year, the company has yet to reveal the visor’s market release. Per SAE International, though, it intends for automakers to incorporate the Virtual Visor into its future passenger vehicles and some commercial trucks.
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Whitney Russell is a current resident of Dayton, though her spirit can be found beach-bumming on Puerto Rico (the land of her half-Puerto Rican heritage). When not adventuring through the exciting world of car news, she can be found hiking with her husband and their Labrador, motorcycling, reorganizing and/or decorating some corner of the world (most likely in yellow), researching random things, hanging out with her hoard of cute nephews and nieces, and escaping into a great movie or story. See more articles by Whitney.
