Gentex to Demonstrate New Connected Car, Biometrics and Digital Rear Vision Technologies at CES 2018
- HomeLink Connect™, an all-new car-to-home automation system that allows drivers to operate home automation devices from the vehicle’s touch screen
- The latest automotive biometrics system that authenticates the driver and delivers custom security, comfort and convenience features
- The next-generation Full Display Mirror®, an intelligent rear-vision system using a camera and mirror-integrated video display to optimize a vehicle’s rearward view
- A new camera monitoring system using multiple cameras and displays to enhance the driver’s side and rear vision
- Dimmable glass for privacy, combiner head-up displays and sensor shrouds
- Custom-designed vehicle demonstrator that provides an immersive connected-car experience, including a demonstration of in-vehicle payments using Visa payment solutions
“Last year at CES, we unveiled several new prototype technologies that garnered lots of attention from automakers,” said
Car-to-Home Automation
Among the features
HomeLink Connect is an extension of Gentex’s popular HomeLink feature, which consists of in-vehicle buttons that can be programmed to operate radio-frequency controlled devices like garage doors and security gates. More than 80 million HomeLink-equipped vehicles are on the road today.
“By adding cloud-based wireless control to HomeLink’s traditional RF functionality, the feature stands to remain the industry’s most versatile, reliable, and comprehensive in-vehicle home automation system,” said Downing. “It also opens the feature to new markets and new users by providing an ever-expanding number of use cases.”
In-Vehicle Biometrics
At CES,
Upon entering the vehicle, a glance to the mirror by an authorized user would the allow the vehicle to operate, and then personalize setup by automatically adjusting seat position, HVAC controls, music favorites, GPS locations, and other cabin amenities, according to user-determined presets. The biometric system could then sanction safe, secure access to a host of cloud-based, connected-vehicle services, like home automation control, tolling, in-vehicle payments, etc.
“The driver’s eyes are key to securing and customizing the in-vehicle, connected-car experience,” said Downing. “By knowing exactly who is behind the wheel, automakers can implement vehicle security, personalize the vehicle cabin, and secure access to cloud-based accounts, apps, and additional connected-car services.”
Digital Vision/Full Display Mirrors
Gentex’s CES booth will also showcase the Company’s next-generation Full Display Mirror (FDM), an intelligent rear-vision system that uses a custom camera and mirror-integrated video display to optimize a vehicle’s rearward view. The system captures video from a rearward-facing camera and streams it to a unique mirror-integrated LCD that provides the driver with an unobstructed, panoramic view behind the vehicle.
The mirror offers bi-modal functionality. In mirror mode, the product functions as a standard rearview mirror, but with the flip of a lever, the mirror enters display mode, and a clear, bright, LCD display appears through the mirror’s reflective surface, providing a wide, unobstructed rearward view.
Gentex’s next-generation FDM features an all-new frameless design with a larger, higher-resolution display, and is accompanied by a 1.7-megapixel camera. The result is an elegantly styled, digital rearview mirror that not only improves the driver’s rearward view but also contributes to the sophistication of the vehicle’s interior.
Digital Vision/Camera Monitoring Systems
The Gentex FDM is a critical component in the Company’s new camera monitoring system (CMS), which uses three cameras to provide comprehensive views of the sides and rear of the vehicle. The side-view cameras are discretely housed in reduced-sized, exterior mirrors. Their video feeds are combined with that of a roof-mounted camera and stitched together into multiple composite views that are streamed to the driver in the Full Display Mirror.
By housing the side-view cameras in downsized exterior mirrors, the entire system fails safe. Should weather conditions or system failure disrupt the digital view, drivers can still use the interior and exterior mirrors. It also supports user preference by permitting drivers to use standard mirror views, camera views, or both. The downsized mirrors also provide the automaker with significant weight savings and fuel efficiency improvements.
By using different types of flat and curved glass, combined with simple alterations to the video viewing modes, Gentex’s CMS system can be tuned to meet the various regulatory field-of-view requirements around the world.
For CES 2018,
Dimmable Glass
For the first time,
Today’s vehicles are increasingly being outfitted with sensors and cameras for various ADAS features. Autonomous vehicles will undoubtedly be equipped with cameras, radar, LIDAR and a host of other safety-related sensor systems. It’s challenging to integrate these into a vehicle in a manner that optimizes performance while maintaining a clean design aesthetic. Sensor shrouds work to conceal and optimize the operation of cameras, optical systems and the autonomous sensor farm.
All-New Product Demonstrator
All the technology discussed above will be integrated into hands-on product displays, functional vehicles, and an all-new
One driving scenario demonstrates in-vehicle payments for items like gas, which is made possible through Visa Token Service, a security technology that replaces sensitive payment card account information with a unique digital identifier to process payments without exposing actual account details. When low on fuel, the driver would be directed to a nearby gas station, where paying for the fill-up would be as easy as choosing Visa on the vehicle’s touchscreen.
“Gentex and Visa are working together to show the ways that our technology and in-vehicle payments can complement one another,” said Downing. “When you combine Visa’s leadership in digital payments with our connected car features and in-vehicle displays, we can work together to help automakers implement unique and robust in-vehicle payments solutions.”
CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technology. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association™, it has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for over 50 years. This year’s show runs
Founded in 1974,
Gentex Media Contact
(616) 772-1590 x4316
craig.piersma@gentex.com
Gentex Investor Relations Contact
Josh O’Berski
(616) 772-1800 x5814
josh.oberski@gentex.com
Source: Gentex Corporation