Japan Approves Camera Based ORVM; Cars To Go Mirrorless

What was seen in the concept cars is now legal in Japan, the mirrorless concept has been taken forward to production on cars manufactured in Japan.

The concept of camera based ORVMs (Outside Rear View Mirrors) is becoming a reality with the approval from Japan. The technology is where a camera is placed in place of the ORVMs and is streamed to a display unit inside the car.

Ichikoh Industries of Japan and Bosch of Germany will produce the product, Ichikoh will call it 'Smart Rear View Mirror' which relays live video from the rear camera, and is expected to be launched in August.

A display monitor which will stream the live video will enhance the vision due to the wide angle, better image quality, and compensating factors like glare, darkness or even bad weather. Also, with the tiny camera in place of the mirror, will result in better dynamics in styling, higher wind resistance, and reduction in weight.

Several other countries like the USA, China, and countries from Europe will follow suit and expected to embrace the technology sooner than later.

The BMW i8 concept which showcased this technology will come to production cars in Japan and is expected to reach 2.3 million cars by 2023. Ichikoh Industries says, that around 29 percent will be equipped with the camera system replacing the conventional mirrors.