MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the all-new IAA Mobility show in Munich, Germany, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) will demonstrate its latest digital vision, connected car, in-cabin monitoring, and dimmable glass technologies. It will exhibit a mix of features ready for automaker implementation as well as emerging technologies for new mobility models and the coming autonomous age.
Gentex is a long-time supplier of electro-optical products for the global automotive, aerospace and fire protection industries. It’s best known for supplying nearly every major automaker with connected-car technologies and advanced electronic features that optimize driver vision and enhance driving safety.
The company’s IAA Mobility exhibit (Hall A2, Stand #B01) will showcase its digital vision products, including the Full Display Mirror (FDM), an intelligent rear-vision system that uses a custom camera and mirror-integrated video display to optimize a vehicle’s rearward view. The system captures video from a rearward-facing camera and streams it to a unique mirror-integrated LCD that provides the driver with an unobstructed, panoramic view behind the vehicle.
The FDM can be integrated with additional features, such as a mirror-integrated digital video recorder (DVR), or dash cam, designed to capture road scenes, accidents, vandalism, and other traffic events. Another unique FDM feature is a scalable trailer cam system that streams video feeds from multiple cameras to provide a clear view of not only what’s behind the trailer, but also what’s inside, outside, and all around it.
When it comes to car connectivity, Gentex will showcase HomeLink, the industry-leading car-to-home automation system, which consists of vehicle-integrated buttons that can be programmed to operate a myriad of home automation devices, from garage doors to thermostats.
Gentex will also demonstrate Integrated Toll Module (ITM), the company’s nationwide toll collection technology for factory integration into new vehicles. ITM uses a vehicle-integrated, multi-protocol toll tag to provide drivers access to toll roads throughout the U.S.
To support the growth of in-cabin sensing, Gentex has developed a holistic, scalable system that uses camera- and non-camera-based components to monitor not only the driver, but also passengers and the entire vehicle cabin, including the interior air quality.
The core system uses a mirror-integrated camera to provide basic DMS (driver monitoring system) functionality, analyzing the driver’s head pose, eye gaze, and other vision-based metrics to determine driver distraction, drowsiness, and readiness for return of manual control in semi-autonomous vehicles. The scalable system can then be expanded to monitor the entire vehicle cabin, tracking passengers and their behavior, as well as objects within the vehicle interior.
It can even turn the vehicle into a mobile communications center for making a video phone call, conducting a meeting, or capturing an in-cabin selfie.
To complement its camera-based system, the company also continues to develop in-cabin sensing units that use particulate and chemical sensing technologies to detect smoke, vape, VOCs, and other airborne contaminants in the vehicle. These units will become increasingly important for autonomous vehicle operators in order to keep passengers safe and vehicles clean.
Gentex is the world’s leading supplier of dimmable devices, shipping over 40 million units annually. The company’s current product portfolio consists of glare-eliminating interior and exterior rearview mirrors, and electronically dimmable windows for the aerospace industry. Gentex is now developing large-area dimmable devices for in-vehicle lighting, sunload, and privacy control, including dimmable sunroofs, which darken on demand or in conjunction with system intelligence.
Gentex technology will also be on display at Rinspeed’s IAA Mobility booth. To highlight the future of the Light Commercial Vehicle market, the company recently partnered with automotive think tank and car design powerhouse Rinspeed on it latest design, CitySnap, a proof-of-concept delivery vehicle designed to highlight innovative, sustainable, and efficient urban delivery. Central to the concept are mobile locker units that are transported, delivered and “hot swapped” to parcel stations throughout a city.
To assist the driver in the safe and efficient delivery and pickup of the locker units, Gentex not only equipped CitySnap with an FDM, but also a custom camera system that helps the driver align the vehicle at the docking station. The camera video is fed to an interior display with corresponding overlays, which the driver can monitor to perfectly align the vehicle.
To help monitor the mobile lockers and prevent the potential transport of dangerous substances, Gentex equipped the lockers with its Vaporsens chemical detection units, which utilize machine olfaction – a digital sense of smell -- to detect a wide range of airborne contaminants, including smoke, explosives or incendiary components, biohazards, spoiled food, pollutants, and other hazardous substances.
The IAA Mobility show runs September 7-12 in Munich, Germany.
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and electronics to the automotive industry, dimmable aircraft windows for aviation markets, and fire protection products to the fire protection market. Visit the company website at www.gentex.com.
Gentex Media Contact
Craig Piersma
(616) 772-1590 x4316
craig.piersma@gentex.com
Gentex Investor Relations Contact
Josh O’Berski
(616) 772-1800 x5814
josh.oberski@gentex.com
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