BMW i8 Concept Is Mirrorless

Another showcase from BMW at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 besides the doorless i8 is the mirrorless i8.

This isn’t a completely new idea but previous designs had the cameras built into the car’s body. The new concept from BMW however, mounts the cameras on tiny wings, kept slim for better aerodynamics and front-side view and lesser wind noise; the wings also house the turn signals. A notable difference to this is the addition of a camera mounted on the rear screen.

The views from either side and the rear are then stitched together as one and displayed on an 11.8-inch high resolution screen mounted at… you guessed it… the same place where a conventional rear-view mirror sits. But the advantage of this is you’ll only need to look at one spot for an extended field-of-view of what’s behind you. The displayed image will also shift in the direction of a turn to give the driver a better view.

Another advantage is there are no mirrors to adjust every time there’s a driver change. According to BMW, the cameras will use Gorilla Glass lenses with a dirt-repelling coating and the camera mounts are designed so that spray water is conducted around the lens. If you think about it, conventional side mirrors now can get dirty, muddy and misty too. A dirty rear screen? That affects the conventional rear-view too. So the cameras aren’t faring any worse.

But we can also think of a potential problem – Do the camera wings look attractive to vandals?

There’s no indication when this idea will see production but with a few automakers looking at a similar concept, we’re guessing it’s not too far off.