Audi’s upcoming electric version of its R8 e-tron supercar is scheduled to arrive this fall. One of the big changes to the electric supercar will be the deletion of the rear window, so Audi has just announced a new high-tech way that drivers can see what’s going on behind them: the digital rear-view mirror.
The digital rear-view mirror originally premiered at the Le Mans 24 Hours in the R18 e-tron quattro and R18 ultra race cars, which also don’t have rear windows. How does it work? According to Audi, a small, ultra-lightweight camera is located on the back of the R8 e-tron and is heated in cold temperatures. It uses a lens with a diameter of just a few millimeters and covers a much larger field of vision than a conventional rear-view mirror. Inside the digital image data from the camera is displayed on a color monitor with a 7.7-inch screen diagonal mounted in place of a conventional rear-view mirror.
In addition to displaying the data from the rear camera, Audi is also working on incorporating additional information on the monitor in future.
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