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A backup camera (also called a reversing camera or rear-view camera) is a video camera specifically designed to be attached to the rear of a vehicle to aid in reversing and reduce the rear blind spot. The rear blind spot has been described as a "killing zone" due to the accidents it contributes to. [1] Backup cameras are usually connected to the vehicle's head unit display. A common variant is a surround-view system, which assembles a synthetic but positionally accurate top-down view of the vehicle and its surroundings.
Backup cameras have been regulated by law in Canada and the United States since 2018. Since May of that year, backup cameras have been required on all new vehicles sold in the United States. [2]
The design of a backup camera is distinct from other cameras because the image is horizontally flipped to produce a mirror image. [3] This is necessary because the camera and the driver face opposite directions; without this adjustment, the camera's right would be on the driver's left and vice versa. A mirrored image makes the orientation of the display consistent with the physical mirrors installed on the vehicle. A backup camera typically utilizes a wide-angle or fish-eye lens. Although such lenses may limit the camera's ability to capture distant objects, they allow the camera to see an uninterrupted horizontal path from one rear corner to the other. The camera is typically pointed at a downward angle to view potential obstacles on the ground.
Backup cameras use dashboard screens that are also used with GPS navigation systems. Inside the vehicle, the display is typically wired to automatically activate when the transmission is set to reverse, showing the backup view on the dashboard screen while the vehicle is in reverse and/or providing grid guidelines to aid the driver.
Different varieties of backup cameras for different applications:
The first backup camera was used in the 1956 Buick Centurion concept car, [4] presented in January 1956 at the General Motors Motorama. The vehicle had a rear-mounted television camera that sent images to a TV screen on the dashboard in place of the rear-view mirror. [5]
The 1972 Volvo Experimental Safety Car (VESC) also had a backup camera, but this feature did not make it into the subsequent Volvo 240 model. [6] [7]
The first production automobile to incorporate a backup camera was the 1991 Toyota Soarer Limited (UZZ31 and UZZ32), which was only available in Japan. The Toyota system used a color EMV screen with a rear-spoiler-mounted CCD camera. This system was discontinued in 1997. In April 2000, Nissan's Infiniti division introduced the Rear View Monitor on the 2002 Infiniti Q45 flagship sedan. Using colored on-screen guidelines as a parking distance parameter, the Rear View Monitor operated from a license-plate-mounted camera in the trunk that transmitted a mirrored image to a 7-inch in-dash LCD screen. It was available as optional equipment at the North American launch in March 2001. [8] [9] The 2002 Nissan Primera introduced the Rear View Monitor backup camera system to territories outside Japan and North America.
Aftermarket options for cars have been available for some time with electronics manufacturers offering multiple car upgrades that can be installed by professionals without replacing the car's center console.
Infiniti introduced the first surround-view cameras, making the system available on the 2008 EX35 and marketing it as the Around View Monitor. The system used four cameras located at the front, back, and sides of the vehicle, feeding images to an image processing unit to create a synthetic but positionally accurate top-down view of the car and its surroundings. In most modern systems, the pictures appear in such detail that it's difficult to believe they were not taken from above the vehicle. [10] [11]
Other manufacturers have since offered similar systems, such as Bird's Eye View Camera (Toyota) and Surround Vision (Chevrolet).
First offered in October 2018, the Japanese market Lexus ES can be optioned with cameras as side view mirrors. This feature is also offered on the Audi Q8 e-tron and Hyundai Ioniq 5. [12]
These advanced cameras do not require cables between the camera and the display, functioning remotely. They typically switch on automatically when the reverse gear is engaged. Some models used solar energy for power. [3] The display can be powered from the 12-volt socket on the car's dashboard, and some models sync directly with a mobile phone via an app.
Blind spot monitors may include "Cross Traffic Alert", which alerts drivers when traffic is approaching from the sides while backing out of a parking space. [13] [14] [15]
The following countries have laws that mandate backup cameras for all new vehicles.
Country/Region | Deadline for compliance | Note | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
United States | May 1, 2018 | Required for all vehicles under 10,000 pounds | [16] |
Canada | May 1, 2018 | Required for all vehicles under 10,000 pounds (4536 kg) | [17] |
Japan | May 1, 2022 | [18] [19] | |
European Union | July 6, 2022 | Reversing camera or detection system is required. | [20] [21] |
Australia | November 1, 2025 | All new vehicles made from existing models will be required since 1 November 2027. | [22] |
In the United States, the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 [23] required the United States Department of Transportation to issue backup-collision-safety regulations within three years and require full compliance within four years after final rulemaking. [24]
The statutory deadline for issuing the final regulations was February 2011. However, the USDOT repeatedly extended the deadline to analyze costs and benefits of the requirement. [25] In September 2013, Greg Gulbransen, the father of the child after whom the law was named, along with a group of consumers and advocates, submitted a petition to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, demanding that the USDOT implement regulations on backup cameras within 90 days. [26] About half of model year 2012 automobiles were equipped with backup cameras. [24] [27]
On March 31, 2014, three years past its deadline, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it would require all automobiles sold in the United States built beginning in May 2018 to include backup cameras. [28] On October 31, 2016, Transport Canada issued a similar mandate beginning at the same time. [17]
A blind spot in a vehicle or vehicle blind spot is an area around the vehicle that cannot be directly seen by the driver while at the controls, under existing circumstances. In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle. Visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions and by a vehicle's design. The parts of a vehicle that influence visibility include the windshield, the dashboard and the pillars. Good driver visibility is essential to safe road traffic.
A dashboard is a control panel set within the central console of a vehicle, boat, or cockpit of an aircraft or spacecraft. Usually located directly ahead of the driver, it displays instrumentation and controls for the vehicle's operation. An electronic equivalent may be called an electronic instrument cluster, digital instrument panel, digital dash, digital speedometer or digital instrument cluster. By analogy, a succinct display of various types of related visual data in one place is also called a dashboard.
The Nissan Fuga is a mid-size luxury sedan produced by Japanese automaker Nissan since October 2004. It is built on a wider, stretched wheelbase version of the Nissan FM platform. After the Nissan Cima and Nissan President were discontinued in August 2010, the Fuga became Nissan's flagship vehicle. In North America and Europe, the Fuga was sold as the second and third-generation Infiniti M and Infiniti Q70, where it was the flagship sedan of the Infiniti luxury division of Nissan from 2006 to 2019.
The Infiniti M is a line of mid-size luxury (executive) cars from the Infiniti luxury division of Nissan. From 2013 on it has been marketed as the Infiniti Q70, reflecting the company's new naming scheme.
Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are technologies that assist drivers with the safe operation of a vehicle. Through a human-machine interface, ADAS increase car and road safety. ADAS use automated technology, such as sensors and cameras, to detect nearby obstacles or driver errors, and respond accordingly. ADAS can enable various levels of autonomous driving.
The Infiniti Q45 is a full-size, rear-drive, five-passenger luxury sedan marketed as the flagship model of Infiniti, Nissan's luxury division — across three generations spanning model years 1989-2006.
In road-transport terminology, a lane departure warning system (LDWS) is a mechanism designed to warn the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its lane on freeways and arterial roads. These systems are designed to minimize accidents by addressing the main causes of collisions: driver error, distractions and drowsiness. In 2009 the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began studying whether to mandate lane departure warning systems and frontal collision warning systems on automobiles.
Intelligent Parking Assist System (IPAS), also known as Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS) for Toyota models in the United States, is the first production automatic parking system developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1999 initially for the Japanese market hybrid Prius models and Lexus models. The technology assists drivers in parking their vehicle. On vehicles equipped with the IPAS, via an in-dash screen and button controls, the car can steer itself into a parking space with little input from the user. The first version of the system was deployed on the Prius Hybrid sold in Japan in 2003. In 2006, an upgraded version debuted for the first time outside Japan on the Lexus LS luxury sedan, which featured the automatic parking technology among other brand new inventions from Toyota. In 2009, the system appeared on the third generation Prius sold in the U.S. In Asia and Europe, the parking technology is marketed as the Intelligent Park Assist System for both Lexus and Toyota models, while in the U.S. the Advanced Parking Guidance System name is only used for the Lexus system.
A rear-view mirror is a, usually flat, mirror in automobiles and other vehicles, designed to allow the driver to see rearward through the vehicle's rear window.
The Volvo VESC, the Volvo Experimental Safety Car, was a concept car made by Volvo to showcase a number of innovative passenger safety features. It was unveiled in 1972 at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Volvo Safety Concept Car (SCC) is an ESV concept car. The SCC incorporates the rear hatch design from Volvo P1800ES and the glass hatch from Volvo 480ES. The interior design is similar to the S40 and V50; the majority of parts including the instrument panel, 'floating' centre stack and steering wheel are shared by the three cars. Its doors open in a manner of front conventional doors and rear small sliding doors.
The Lincoln MKS is a full-size, five-passenger, front- or all-wheel drive luxury sedan manufactured by Ford and marketed by its Lincoln subdivision for model years (MY) 2009–2016 — over a single generation with an intermediate facelift.
The blind spot monitor or blind-spot monitoring is a vehicle-based sensor device that detects other vehicles located to the driver’s side and rear. Warnings can be visual, audible, vibrating, or tactile.
Parking sensors are proximity sensors for road vehicles designed to alert the driver of obstacles while parking. These systems use either electromagnetic or ultrasonic sensors.
Automatic parking is an autonomous car-maneuvering system that moves a vehicle from a traffic lane into a parking spot to perform parallel, perpendicular, or angle parking. The automatic parking system aims to enhance the comfort and safety of driving in constrained environments where much attention and experience is required to steer the car. The parking maneuver is achieved by means of coordinated control of the steering angle and speed which takes into account the actual situation in the environment to ensure collision-free motion within the available space.
A side-view mirror, also known as a door mirror and often called a wing mirror, is a mirror placed on the exterior of motor vehicles for the purposes of helping the driver see areas behind and to the sides of the vehicle, outside the driver's peripheral vision.
A collision avoidance system (CAS), also known as a pre-crash system, forward collision warning system (FCW), or collision mitigation system, is an advanced driver-assistance system designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision. In its basic form, a forward collision warning system monitors a vehicle's speed, the speed of the vehicle in front of it, and the distance between the vehicles, so that it can provide a warning to the driver if the vehicles get too close, potentially helping to avoid a crash. Various technologies and sensors that are used include radar (all-weather) and sometimes laser (LIDAR) and cameras to detect an imminent crash. GPS sensors can detect fixed dangers such as approaching stop signs through a location database. Pedestrian detection can also be a feature of these types of systems.
Back-up collisions happen when a driver reverses the car into an object, person, or other car. Although most cars come equipped with rear view mirrors which are adequate for detecting vehicles behind a car, they are inadequate on many vehicles for detecting small children or objects close to the ground, which fall in the car's blind spot, particularly directly aft. That area has been called a "killing zone." Large trucks have much larger blind spots that can hide entire vehicles and large adults.
A dashboard camera or simply dashcam, also known as car digital video recorder, driving recorder, or event data recorder (EDR), is an onboard camera that continuously records the view through a vehicle's front windscreen and sometimes rear or other windows. Some dashcams include a camera to record the interior of the car in 360 degrees inside camera, usually in a ball form, and can automatically send pictures and video using 4G.
Surround view, also called as around view or birds-eye view, is a type of parking assistance system that uses multiple cameras to help drivers monitor their surroundings. It was first introduced in 2007 as the "Around View Monitor" parking assistance option for the Nissan Elgrand and Infiniti EX.