Faurecia emirror: a new view on active safety

An emirror replaces the traditional exterior door mirror with a camera designed to bring a better view of the surrounding environment into the cabin for the driver. It has a wider field of vision, enhances visibility in poor weather or lighting conditions and also provides important safety warnings. Thanks to a lightweight and streamlined shape it also helps reduce CO2 emissions and save energy too, especially for SUVs and commercial vehicles. 

As part of its Faurecia Clarion Electronics portfolio of solutions, Faurecia is working on an emirror project in China with new mobility company Human Horizons. The emirror solution will be integrated into two new sedan and SUV electric vehicle models that will hit the road in 2022 and 2023.  Human Horizons, created in 2017, develops smart transportation technologies and energy-intelligent vehicles. It began deploying its first super SUV, the HiPhi X, this year and is working on its next fleet of smart electric vehicles, all designed around a highly connected mobility experience.    

Typically an emirror system consists of two cameras, display screens inside the cockpit and an electronic control unit (ECU). For Human Horizons, Faurecia is developing the ECU which acts as the central brain processing visual data from the cameras and combining these with display algorithms that warn drivers about lane keeping, blind spots or potential obstacles. This draws on Faurecia’s expertise in electronics, system integration and hardware and software functional safety. Faurecia’s emirror technologies have been developed in Japan, India and China as part of the Group’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

This Faurecia emirror project with Human Horizons will bring important insight into consumer experience and acceptance of this new technology, customizing solutions to the needs of the Chinese market, as well as informing ADAS developments, like automated parking, in the transition to autonomous driving. It’s estimated that cars will need to be equipped with upwards of 20 sensors such as cameras, radars etc to reach level 3 autonomy.