Objects in mirror… will be high-res

Apparently, some drivers do use the big mirrors attached to the side of their cars. For the rest of us will hardly notice when wing mirrors disappear from view, replaced by megapixel digital cameras in a few years.

Side mirrors have been hanging around our cars for about a century but the end is near, so say Tier 1 auto suppliers Valeo and Hyundai Mobis.

As battery packs replace engines, iPods replace radios and technology begins to replace drivers in our evolving cars, it makes perfect sense that bulky mirrors get pushed aside by smaller, lighter and more aerodynamic cameras about the size of your thumb.

“In addition to those advantages, the digital camera gives a wider field of view and you are basically eliminating the blind zones you have with conventional mirrors,” say Amine Taleb, manager of advanced projects at Valeo, whose Sightstream rear-vision camera is ready to hit the road.

Also gone will be the familiar wording 'Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear', according to Taleb, who says rear vision at night and in bad weather will also be improved.

“Well, the passenger side camera does have some level of convex to it. The driver’s camera is a 1:1 ratio so not to distort the image and possibly confuse the driver.

"A camera also gives far better performance at night so you’ll have better visibility at night.

“You’ll have better vision in bad weather because you’re not looking through a rain-soaked or dirt-covered side window into the mirror.”

In the future, instead of wing mirrors, side cameras will display their megapixel images on a high-resolution screen located near the A-pillar.

Legislation governing megapixel cameras on cars is now being finalised in Europe, clearing the way for cameras to replace mirrors as soon as late next year, including in Australia.