Innovative Idea Of Reinventing The Sun Visor

The sunlight in Malaysia can get pretty glaring at times, especially when you’re on the road at noontime. As drivers, we’re constantly forced to use the visor to keep the sunlight out of our eyes when we’re driving to avoid getting into an accident. However, as the visor is placed in a standard location, sometimes it is still unable to block out the sun completely, leading to a lot of shifting and accepting the fact that reduced visibility is better than no visibility.

To combat this, Bosch, the company that produces everything from automotive parts, power tools, security systems, home appliances and electronics has come up with a brilliant product that can help keep the driver’s vision free from the sun’s glare. 

Image from: CNet

Dubbed the Virtual Visor, the visor has a clear LCD panel, which, paired with an in-cabin RGB camera and artificial intelligence, tracks the sun and the driver's face. Using a patented algorithm, the system detects the driver’s view, and when it senses that the sun is reaching it, the LCD darkens the area of the visor, casting a shadow over the driver's eyes. 

The best thing about Virtual Visor is that it doesn't compromise visibility. Even at its strongest, the visor remains about 90 percent transparent, giving it another advantage over traditional visors.

Image from: Motor Authority

Early in the visor’s development, the Bosch team working on the project discovered drivers adjust their visors to cast shadows on their eyes. “This realization was profound,” said Jason Zink, technical expert for Bosch in North America and one of the co-creators of the Virtual Visor, helping them to come up with the idea. 

According to the company, carmakers can implement the Virtual Visor into current designs with minimal adjustments. There’s also the key possibility of lowering the number of sun glare-related accidents each year.

Image from: Forbes

According to Bosch, the visor system is still being refined and isn't ready for mass production yet. However, they are in constant talks with automakers to get the product ready for consumers within a few years. Furthermore, Bosch believes that by the time their product is ready to be launched, driver-facing cameras should be more common in cars, which can assist in being integrated with the Virtual Visor to reduce production costs.

We, for one, can’t wait for it to be implemented into our cars! What do you think about this brand new Virtual Visor? Leave a comment below!