Audi factory drivers get a digital rear-view mirror
Posted 25th May, 2012 in Audi, Motorsport | Leave a comment
With just a few weeks to go until the start of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours race (June 16/17), Audi is still revealing details of its innovative Audi R18 racecar, including this digital rear-view mirror.
Unlike the company’s A5 DTM cars, the R18 e-tron quattro and R18 ultra prototypes feature a mid-engined configuration, meaning that – as with all of the closed LMP sports cars – there is no rear window. So, rather than the driver having to rely on external mirrors, which may be rain-soaked or vibrating at high-speed, the cockpit now features a digital rear-view mirror.
A roof-mounted lightweight camera, positioned just behind the car’s antennas, sends a digital signal to the AMOLED (active matrix OLED) screen, which uses pixels just 0.1 millimetres in size to relay crystal clear images to the driver.
“Even at 330 km/h (205 mph) we’re achieving a totally fluid image flow in real-time transmission. The operation of the mirror is weather-neutral. We also worked out various day and night driving modes. Even when a rival approaches from the rear with high-beam headlights the image is superb and not just a glaring light spot,” said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport.
AUDI AG’s Technical Development department were instrumental in the mirror’s production, perfecting the screen and its programming, through testing in an Audi R8 road car during traffic conditions.
[Source: Audi Motorsport]
