Continental has unveiled a virtual A-pillar design. Integrated OLED displays allow the driver a direct view of the front vehicle environment.
According to Continental, the virtual A-pillar can eliminate blind spots in the forward field of view. To improve vehicle safety, front pillars have widened over the years, sometimes severely obscuring the driver's field of view. When drivers turn off, this poses risks that a virtual A-pillar could minimise. Jaguar Land Rover showcased a similar technology with the "360 Virtual Urban Windscreen'' a few years ago.
According to Continental, the virtual A-pillars offer the driver a view through "an extended window". A SurroundView camera feeds images from the vehicle environment to the OLED displays integrated in the A-pillar. At the same time, an interior camera tracks the driver's head movements to create a dynamic perspective of the vehicle environment.
A virtual A-pillar helps avoid turning accidents
"This new technology allows the driver to see pedestrians and other vehicles approaching from the left and right, which would have otherwise been blocked by the A-pillar," explains Dr. Karsten Michels, head of Systems & Technology in the Interior division at Continental. This way, the safety of cyclists and pedestrians can also be increased when drivers turn off.