The Mercedes-Benz EQS full-electric sedan is so full of know-how that a lot of the automaker’s 70-page press launch on the automotive is dedicated to explaining it. However there may be one function that the EQS surprisingly doesn’t have: A rear-view digicam system that replaces conventional mirrors.
To resolve the issue of blind spots – made worse by security laws which have resulted in thicker physique pillars and smaller glass surfaces – rear-facing cameras with an unobstructed view challenge pictures on a display.
As a bonus, vehicles are extra aerodynamic as a result of the 2 side-view mirrors are eradicated or decreased to tiny cameras. That’s particularly essential for electrified automobiles such because the EQS to achieve just a few additional miles of vary.
Analysts and suppliers are bullish on the know-how. Past the security and aerodynamics advantages, stated Aaron Dale of IHS Markit, rear-view cameras may be built-in with analytics software program or algorithms to acknowledge pedestrians. That can be essential sooner or later for self-driving vehicles.
Vehicles such because the Honda-e, the Lexus 300h and the Audi e-tron already supply such “digital” rear-view mirrors.
However Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius stated Mercedes – usually on the chopping fringe of know-how – is not going to supply them on the EQS, for a really un-technical purpose.
“The research to date have discovered {that a} not-insignificant portion of consumers, after they have a display contained in the automotive watching what’s occurring behind them, they get movement illness,” he stated.
Kallenius acknowledged the aerodynamic advantages at excessive velocity – and famous that rear-view cameras are already available on Daimler’s heavy vehicles – however he stated that at low speeds, the vitality used to energy a rear-view digicam system nearly outweighed any aerodynamic good points.
He stated Mercedes didn’t need to supply “know-how for know-how’s sake” if it got here at a human price, however he didn’t rule out future use if rear-view methods improved.
However because it stands, automotive illness would definitely not be a welcome function on a automotive that, as Mercedes places it, is “designed to exceed the expectations of even our most demanding clients.”