Company: Bosch
Category: Vehicle Intelligence & Transportation

The Bosch Virtual Visor replaces traditional vehicle sun visors with a transparent, liquid crystal display.

When the sun is low on the horizon, it can create a significant distraction for the driver and disrupt the driver’s vision. Though the traditional visor does help to block the sun, it also blocks the view of everything else, including street lights and the road.

When the Virtual Visor is deployed, the driver does not need to take their hands off the steering wheel to adjust the visor, because it’s fully automated.

Whereas traditional sun visors had to be limited in size to ensure that taller drivers could see the road, the mostly transparent build of the Virtual Visor allows it to be larger to accommodate both shorter and taller drivers.

The Tech Behind It

Using a monitoring camera, the Virtual Visor intelligently blocks only the portion of the visor where the sun would be striking the driver’s eyes, leaving the rest of the visor transparent.

This helps improve visibility through the visor and, at the same time, automatically adjust to the sun, allowing the driver to focus on the road.

The decision about which portion of the visor is transparent or opaque is based on a video stream of the driver, which analyzes not only the location of the driver but also where shadows from the visor are cast onto the driver’s face.

By understanding where the visor is casting shadows, the unique Bosch algorithm creates a feedback loop to dynamically adjust the visor transparency. The process is repeated multiple times per second to provide the most updated adjustment of the blocking element, regardless of the driver’s head movement, vehicle movement, time of day or geographic location.

Applicable to both passenger and commercial vehicles, the technology in the Bosch Virtual Visor aims to lower the risk of traffic accidents and keeps drivers comfortable and attentive.

See the Bosch Virtual Visor at the CES 2020 Innovation Awards Showcase.