Gentex Says Its RCD Mirrors Are More Effective Than In-Dash Displays

US-based manufacturer Gentex Corporation is known to make automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and camera-based lighting-assist features, with its Rear Camera Display (RCD) Mirrors being the highlight of its product portfolio. The company says its RCD Mirrors exceed US NHTSA requirements and that are more effective in helping drivers detect and avoid accidents when reversing than in-dash displays.

The company's RCD Mirrors respond in two seconds or less, and typically have a daytime luminance in the range of 1,200 to 1,500cd/m2.

They are currently offered on 62 vehicle models by nine different car makers.  Last year, the company shipped 1.25 million RCD Mirrors and now expects those to increase by approximately 50 per cent for the first six months of 2011, compared with the same period in 2010 - based on IHS Automotive's mid-April forecast for automotive light vehicle production.

“We believe that Gentex RCD Mirrors are faster, brighter and are more cost-effective than other displays available today, offering our customers ‘immediate compliance’ with the KTSA,” said Enoch Jen, Gentex senior vice president.  “The displays are more than 300 per cent brighter than any current in-dash display.”

“We are urging our customers to consider our RCD Mirrors as part of their strategy for meeting the requirements of the NHTSA rule, which is expected to be finalised by the end of 2011," said Jen.

“The number of backover incidences were significantly fewer when the drivers surveyed utilised a mirror-borne display compared with in-dash displays,” added Jen. “The mirror appears to be a safer location for the display, likely because it is in the driver's natural line-of-sight, can be viewed while maintaining a ‘heads-up’ posture, and is in a logical, intuitive and ergonomic location that the driver is already accustomed to viewing regularly and frequently -- particularly when backing up."