One of the biggest attractions of Audi’s E-Tron electric SUV concept is the mirrorless virtual side mirror system. This system allows you to change the angle of the side mirror view.
And you can also zoom in and out. The ability to zoom with the virtual side mirror system could especially benefit those who have vision issues. This is definitely a major safety benefit!
Rather than using the standard side mirrors, the E-Tron concept has 7-inch OLED monitors mounted above the door handles inside of the vehicle. And those monitors are connected to rear-view cameras.
“The driver can enter different setting using the touchscreen function. The image detail can be moved, providing the required field of vision, while the user can also zoom in and out of the image. The driver can choose from three views in the MMI system for different situations — for highway driving, for turning and for parking,” said Audi in a press release via Autoblog.
Auditography, a photographer and videographer company for Audi, showcased how this system works in the video below:
You will notice in the video that the OLED video screen controlling the virtual side mirrors has a touch user interface for changing the view and zoom. And it shows how the driver can also control the passenger side camera as well.
It’s worth mentioning that using cameras for the side mirrors improves drags. And every .01 coefficient of drag reduces the range by about 3.12 miles. And the E-Tron has a 0.28 drag coefficient.
Originally, Audi was planning to launch the E-Tron at the Audi Summit on August 30th in Brussels. However, it will be launched in the U.S. on a later date. And it will be available in Europe by the end of the year.
