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Safe eyes save lives: How Bosch engineers are innovating the 95-year-old sun visor

bosch virtual visor

Bosch’s new Virtual Visor greatly improves driver safety and comfort

  • Sun glare causes thousands of automotive accidents a year, almost two times more than any other weather-related condition.
  • Virtual Visor features a single, transparent LCD panel, a driver-facing camera with AI facial detection and analysis and tracking software.
  • Dr. Steffen Berns: “Some of the simplest innovations make the greatest impact, and Virtual Visor changes the way drivers see the road.”
  • Bosch at CES®: Virtual Visor named Best of Innovation in CES 2020 Innovation Awards; see it in action at booth #12041 in Central Hall.
Joern Ebberg

Joern Ebberg

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Farmington Hills, Michigan – Bosch is rethinking driver safety and comfort, bringing one of the most overlooked interior components into the spotlight, the sun visor. The sun causes twice as many car accidents as any other weather-related condition due to temporary blindness. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports thousands sun glare-related car accidents each year, and another study indicates the risk of a car crash is 16 percent higher during bright sunlight than normal weather. The traditional sun visor is not equipped to adequately address this safety concern. At best, it blocks some of the sun from your eyes but along with it, some of your view is blocked as well.

Bosch is offering a solution with the revolutionary Virtual Visor, a transparent LCD and intuitive camera, which replaces the traditional vehicle sun visor completely. As the first reimagined visor in nearly a century, Bosch’s technology utilizes intelligent algorithms to intuitively block the sun’s glare and not the view of the road ahead.

“For most drivers around the world, the visor component as we know it is not enough to avoid hazardous sun glare – especially at dawn and dusk when the sun can greatly decrease drivers’ vision,” said Dr. Steffen Berns, president of Bosch Car Multimedia. “Some of the simplest innovations make the greatest impact, and Virtual Visor changes the way drivers see the road.”

For most drivers around the world, the visor component as we know it is not enough to avoid hazardous sun glare – especially at dawn and dusk when the sun can greatly decrease drivers’ vision.

Dr. Steffen Berns, president of Bosch Car Multimedia

The Virtual Visor, which was honored as a Best of Innovation in the CES 2020 Innovation Awards, will debut at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The Virtual Visor was also named as an honoree in the awards competition, which recognizes products across 28 categories. Virtual Visor received the Best of Innovation for the In-Vehicle Entertainment & Safety category, as it received the highest ratings from a panel of judges that includes designers, engineers and members of the tech media.

A sun visor fit for the future

Virtual Visor links an LCD panel with a driver or occupant-monitoring camera to track the sun’s casted shadow on the driver’s face. The system uses artificial intelligence to locate the driver within the image from the driver-facing camera. It also utilizes AI to determine the landmarks on the face ‒ including where the eyes, nose and mouth are located ‒ so that it can identify shadows on the face. The algorithm analyzes the driver’s view, darkening only the section of the display through which light hits the driver’s eyes. The rest of the display remains transparent, no longer obscuring a large section of the driver’s field of vision.

“We discovered early in the development that users adjust their traditional sun visors to always cast a shadow on their own eyes,” said Jason Zink, technical expert for Bosch in North America and one of the co-creators of the Virtual Visor. “This realization was profound in helping simplify the product concept and fuel the design of the technology.”

The creative use of liquid crystal technology to block a specific light source decreases dangerous sun glare, driver discomfort and accident risk; it also increases driver visibility, comfort and safety.

Innovation from the recycling bin

From the original ideation and concept phase to testing and prototyping, Virtual Visor is a bottom-up solution made possible through the innovation culture established at Bosch. Employees are encouraged to apply lean startup methodologies to confirm customer benefits, market potential and feasibility for new ideas, which are then validated by peers and approved for development.

“We’ve built a culture around empowering our associates by putting them in the driver’s seat,” said Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America. The Virtual Visor was developed by a team in North America as part of Bosch internal innovation activities. “As a leading global technology provider, we understand that innovation can come from any level of an organization, and we want to see that grow.”

We’ve built a culture around empowering our associates by putting them in the driver’s seat.

Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America

Bosch at CES 2020:

  • PRESS CONFERENCE: From 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. local time on Monday, January 6, 2020 in Ballrooms B, C, and D, Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas South Convention Center, Level 2
  • BOOTH: Tuesday to Friday, January 7–10, 2020, in the Central Hall, booth #12401
  • FOLLOW the Bosch CES 2020 highlights on Twitter: #BoschCES

  • PANELS WITH BOSCH EXPERTS:
    Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
    (local time)
    Growth of Apprenticeships for “New Collar” Jobs session with Charlie Ackerman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Las Vegas South Convention Center

Press contacts:

Annett Fischer, Phone: +49 711 811-6286, Annett.fischer@de.bosch.com
Tim Wieland, Phone: +1 248-876-7708, Tim.Wieland@us.bosch.com

Bosch at CES 2020:

  • PRESS CONFERENCE: From 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. local time on Monday, January 6, 2020 in Ballrooms B, C, and D, Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas
    South Convention Center, Level 2
  • BOOTH: Tuesday to Friday, January 7–10, 2020, in the Central Hall, booth #12401
  • FOLLOW the Bosch CES 2020 highlights on Twitter: #BoschCES
  • PANELS WITH BOSCH EXPERTS: Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. (local time)
    Growth of Apprenticeships for “New Collar” Jobs session with Charlie Ackerman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Las Vegas South Convention Center

Mobility is the largest Bosch Group business sector. In 2023, its sales came to 56.2 billion euros, or just under 60 percent of total Group sales. This makes the Bosch Group one of the leading mobility suppliers. Bosch Mobility pursues a vision of mobility that is safe, sustainable, and exciting. For its customers, the outcome is integrated mobility solutions. The business sector’s main areas of activity are electrification, software and services, semiconductors and sensors, vehicle computers, advanced driver assistance systems, systems for vehicle dynamics control, repair-shop concepts, as well as technology and services for the automotive aftermarket. Bosch is synonymous with important automotive innovations, such as electronic engine management, the ESP anti-skid system, and common-rail diesel technology.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 429,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The company generated sales of 91.6 billion euros in 2023. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. With its business activities, the company aims to use technology to help shape universal trends such as automation, electrification, digitalization, connectivity, and an orientation to sustainability. In this context, Bosch’s broad diversification across regions and industries strengthens its innovativeness and robustness. Bosch uses its proven expertise in sensor technology, software, and services to offer customers cross-domain solutions from a single source. It also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products. With technology that is “Invented for life,” Bosch wants to help improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 470 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. Bosch’s innovative strength is key to the company’s further development. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 90,000 associates in research and development, of which nearly 48,000 are software engineers.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

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