Next R2 Hardware Wishlist

[Millbarge]

The only car I have driven with a camera based center rear view mirror was a Lexus. The clarity and wide field that eliminated blind spots was awesome. The overall usability was horrible! With a standard mirror, the eye focus is for the distance to the object being viewed, which is similar to the front window view. With the mirror as a display for a camera, the eye focus is the distance to the mirror, which is closer than the instrument panel. Data on the instrument panel is relatively large and very high contrast, and down low where bifocals or vari-focal lenses automatically adjust for such focusing, but the mirror display is up high, highly detailed, and with highly variable contrast. For younger eyes, this is not likely a problem, but for someone needing multi-focal lenses because the eye does not focus as easily, a problem that starts with most people as they age over 40, this is a serious problem.

Fortunately, the Lexus EV I test drove made it easy to turn off the display and have a standard mirror view in its place. The camera display basically was behind the mirror, and totally dominated the image when it was on, but left a very normal mirror view when the display was off. I was only a block or two into the drive when I realized the mirror appeared terribly out of focus, and then it didn't take long to realize I had to point my nose in the air to see what was in the mirror, and thereby very much obscuring the front view in my periphery of the mirror display.

If I had a camera mirror, I don't think I'd use it all the time. But when the car has been loaded up, like college move in/out, I would have liked to have that feature.

Sponsored

 

[Millbarge]

That's the law in California for years when it rains. If the wipers but not the lights are on, ticket.

yeah it's the law in PA too. and there's signs. and a large number of people STILL don't do it.

 

[kanefsky]

The only car I have driven with a camera based center rear view mirror was a Lexus. The clarity and wide field that eliminated blind spots was awesome. The overall usability was horrible! With a standard mirror, the eye focus is for the distance to the object being viewed, which is similar to the front window view.

I agree with this 100%. The rear view is already available on the main display and works pretty well there, but the location and size of the mirror are terrible for that purpose. The biggest issue is that there's very limited ability to organize the display the way you want it, so I rarely leave it on the rear-view display unless my visibility using the mirror is completely blocked.

It would be great if you could split the display horizontally and/or vertically and assign whatever you want to each section. It would also be great if you could assign one of the views to a physical button so that when you push the button it instantly shows your chosen view (such as rear view) for as long as you hold the button and then automatically switches back when you let go.

Sponsored