ADAS done with mirrors & cameras to reach 1.4 million in 2025

The advent of autonomous, connected and electric vehicles with integrated advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), is propelling original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to replace traditional interior and exterior rear view mirrors with electronic mirrors (eMirrors) and smart camera feed modules. Combining camera technology and mirrors with lighting and telematics will allow for greater visibility with real-time information, eliminating blind zones around the vehicle, reducing aerodynamic drag, and improving future cockpit and cabin design and functionality.

By 2025, one in three vehicles is expected to offer electrochromic auto-dimming interior rear-view mirrors, along with a host of advanced functions like antenna integration for various applications, reports Frost and Sullivan. A hybrid solution like adding a camera module to traditional exterior mirrors is the best solution as it addresses the challenges posed by replacing a traditional exterior mirrors with a camera module.

Digital mirrors, also known as hybrid mirrors, are extremely important to migrate the control from vehicle to driver and vice versa, in a smooth and hassle-free manner. However, the introduction of advanced driver assistant systems (ADAS) with technologies such as heads-up display, blind spot detection, and lane keeping assist have partly made traditional external mirrors and to an extent, interior mirrors redundant in highway traffic.

Several developments and trends are driving growth in the North American and European rear-view mirrors market:

  • By 2025, traditional interior and exterior rear-view mirrors in the E, F, and G vehicle segments will give way to camera-powered, 2-in-1 video screens that provide normal mirror functions as well as a video feed of the vehicle’s surroundings.
  • Camera-integrated rear-view mirrors are expected to reach about 1.4 million in unit shipment by 2025 with a host of luxury vehicles offering multiple camera-driven continuous feed mechanisms.
  • Proliferation of ADAS and safety functions, such as blind spot detection and lane departure warning, along with the convenience of continuous camera feed, will boost the uptake and adoption of exterior eMirrors.
  • Connected living lifestyles will be pushed through future mirror systems that integrate ADAS functions with biometrics.

“Future driver interaction with the vehicle cockpit is expected to be largely hands-free. OEMs and suppliers should look toward developing or acquiring advanced human-machine interface concepts, such as natural language and gesture recognition, to gain a competitor advantage,” noted said Frost & Sullivan Mobility Senior Research Analyst Manish Menon.

Frost & Sullivan’s latest analysis on the North America and Europe Rear View Mirrors Market, 2017, offers insight on various aspects of the market such as interior and exterior mirror technology, integration of rear view mirrors with ADAS, and the role of digital rear view mirrors in semi-autonomous driving.