Ford to offer new blind spot and hazard detection in 2009
We've all done it; you're halfway through a lane change and suddenly a horn sounds and snaps you to reality. Whether you failed to check your blind spot adequately, or just plain oblivious, Ford's introducing a two features to help you out. The Blind Spot Mirror and Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System will arrive in 2009, and one offers a low-tech solution, while the other appears to be a Volvo feature trickling down.
Elegantly simple, the Blind Spot Mirror cleverly integrates a convex mirror into the regular mirror glass, much like the generations-old side-reducing mirrors available in other markets with a concave area to aid in viewing blind spots. The Cross-Traffic alert system uses radar to monitor traffic perpendicular to the back end when reversing. During forward travel, the radar system is used to detect and warn of vehicles traveling in your blind spot. The radar tricks sound to us like Ford leveraging Volvo's BLIS system, that monitors blind spots and lights a pilot LED when there's a vehicle there, and we worry that it will make drivers even less attentive, but then, we realize nobody is paying attention now, so if this rig raises awareness, road safety should improve. Ford's planning on bundling these new safety features along with reverse sensing and rearview cameras to create a more comprehensive portfolio of electronic safety aids in response to customers indicating a desire for better mirrors and safety systems. Press release after the jump[Source:Ford]
PRESS RELEASE
NEW FORD MIRROR DESIGN AND RADAR SYSTEMS TO MINIMIZE BLIND SPOT RISK
- Ford introduces two new features coming in 2009 to aid drivers' visibility: Blind Spot Mirror and the Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System.
- The Blind Spot Mirror arrives as standard equipment replacing traditional side view mirrors and features an integrated convex spotter mirror aimed directly at the vehicle's blind spot.
- The Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System utilizes radar to alert of cross-path traffic while in reverse and, in forward gears, warn when a vehicle enters the blind spot.
DEARBORN, Mich., April, 9 2008 - Ford is actively addressing drivers' demands for increased visibility with the introduction of two new features, the Blind Spot Mirror and the Cross Traffic Alert with Blind-Spot Monitoring System, arriving in 2009.
"Ford is delivering innovative features aiding in a better drive experience for the customer," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford Group Vice President, Global Product Development. "The Blind Spot Mirror and Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System are enhancing the customer ownership experience and bringing more value to their purchase."
Ford will be first to market with the Blind Spot Mirror, answering customers' demands for better visibility as they change lanes or parallel park. This affordable mirror technology will first launch early next year and find its way onto many future Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles as standard equipment.
The Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System is a radar-based blind spot detection system with the additional capability to help customers confidently back out of a parking space even when there is traffic approaching from the sides. The optional system will join the Ford portfolio of innovative technologies in 2009 and quickly migrate through the model lineup.
Both of these features demonstrate how Ford is listening closely to customers and responding to customer demand for increased visibility.
Blind Spot Mirror
Ford's push to develop the Blind Spot Mirror and migrate it across its lineup is a direct response to customer research, reports Kelly Kohlstrand with Ford's Advanced Product Marketing and Technology Planning team. "We seek to plan new features that address unmet customer needs," says Kohlstrand. "Customers told us that visibility is important to them and that they specifically desired a more effective outside rearview mirror."
Early drive clinics conducted by Ford show that the Blind Spot Mirror connects with customers - nearly 76 percent of the participants said the mirror improves their confidence while driving. In addition, the learning curve or adjustment to the function of the spotter mirror was minimal.
The Blind Spot Mirror is a consumer-friendly, affordable blind spot solution that consists of an outside rearview mirror designed with a secondary convex spotter in the top outer corner, which is aimed exclusively at the driver's blind spot. When traffic enters the driver's blind spot on either side of the vehicle, it is visible in the secondary convex mirror, thus alerting the driver of potential danger.
Ford's Blind Spot Mirror provides a seamless, more appealing solution than present aftermarket offerings, as it uses one continuous glass surface and is robust to the elements. Because the factory spotter mirror is uniquely and specifically designed for the vehicle - car or truck - it provides an optimized field of view.
Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System
Backing out of a crowded spot in a bustling parking lot, or into street traffic, can be difficult. Drivers sometimes inch their way out with limited visibility on either side, counting on cross traffic to see their vehicle.
Ford's new Cross Traffic Alert feature will assist drivers in backing up by warning drivers of impending traffic while backing out. The feature works in conjunction with Ford's radar-based Blind Spot Monitoring System, utilizing this system's two multiple beam radar modules, which are packaged in the rear quarter panels - one per side. The radar identifies when a vehicle enters the defined blind spot zone and illuminates an indicator light on the corresponding sideview mirror providing a warning that a vehicle is approaching.
Cross Traffic Alert uses the radar when in reverse to pick up moving objects within a 65-foot range from either the left or right side of the vehicle. The radar also works when backing out of angled parking spaces because its view is wider than just strictly sensing traffic coming at a 90-degree angle. Conventional systems have limited sideways effectiveness. When cross traffic is approaching, two warnings are given: an indicator lights up in the corresponding outside mirror and an audible alert is sounded.
The Blind Spot Mirror and Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System will join a portfolio of vehicle parking and back-up aids presently offered by Ford, including the Reverse Sensing System and the Rear View Camera.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jrejre 7:19PM (4/09/2008)
So is there anything different about these blindspot mirrors from the ones you can buy at wal-mart and stick on?
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Xcountryflyer 7:23PM (4/09/2008)
Not really. They just look better since it doesn't look like its from Wal-Mart and stuck on. :)
Tinu 7:33PM (4/09/2008)
At first glance, I thought the picture above was showing a "before" and "after" view of some new type of side-view mirror that offers more coverage. With "after" being the top row, and "before" being the bottom row.
After reading the article :-P, it became apparent its just that little mirror in that top-left corner. Suddenly the news wasn't as exciting anymore. Oh why, oh why did I read this article?!
John 5:49AM (4/10/2008)
So how well do your mirror heaters work on your Wal-Mart stick-ons?
PJ 9:46AM (4/10/2008)
"So is there anything different about these blindspot mirrors from the ones you can buy at wal-mart and stick on?"
They're surely more expensive, given that there's an alert system built in.
Why do American drivers think that their side view mirrors are meant to be aimed back towards the rear fenders? They'll follow you whether you keep track of them or not. Adjust the mirrors out to the sides, and there is no such thing as a "blind spot." Which, of course, is their whole reason for being.
It's heartening to know that an entire group of vehicle engineers at Ford apparently doesn't know how to drive.
Secret Squirrel 10:03AM (4/10/2008)
What about the fact that blind-spot mirrors should be installed on the lower car-side of your mirror where they are to be installed so you don't lose the REST of your mirror viewing area?!?!?!
Bgn 7:23PM (4/09/2008)
How about the a-hole drivers who haul arse through the parking lots slow down...simple fix.
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Steve 7:39PM (4/09/2008)
mazda already has this system on the cx-9
Quattroporte 7:38PM (4/09/2008)
Speaking of new things Ford, what about the new 2010 Taurus:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=125514?tid=edmunds.il.home.photopanel..1.*
Or is this an April Fools joke that I missed?
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Dan 7:50PM (4/09/2008)
Um you can just buy one of those mirrors and stick it on. I've had one for ages. Great job, ford!
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914RSR 7:56PM (4/09/2008)
Or you could aim your side mirrors differently. You don't need to see your fenders in the side mirror. Minimize the overlap between all your mirrors and you do as well as any stick-on.
Paul P. 8:19PM (4/09/2008)
Maybe on a small car that's true, but not on a larger truck/suv. I have barely any overlap in my mirrors and having the convex mirrors is still a huge help. It almost completely gets rid of blind spots on each side. It especially helps with spotting very low cars that are keeping pace with me on my right side.
info 9:01AM (4/10/2008)
>>>Or you could aim your side mirrors differently. You don't need to see your fenders in the side mirror. Minimize the overlap between all your mirrors and you do as well as any stick-on.
Rocketboy 12:44PM (4/10/2008)
Even on a small car with properly aimed side mirrors there's blind spots.
JamesG 9:45PM (4/09/2008)
Nice to see an automaker add this feature to their mirrors. I've gone the "Walmart" route on my vehicles for years-it feels like something is missing when I drive a vehicle without the convex mirrors. The larger the vehicle, the more important the added line of sight becomes.
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mroverlord 10:40PM (4/09/2008)
While the technology is very useful, it ultimately will make people even more careless and lazy. Just think what will happen when they drive their "other" car, or a rental, and don't have it to rely on...OMG!!! They might actually need to use mirrors....oh wait..they don't use them now.
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RozesForTheDead 10:54PM (4/09/2008)
Who the heck uses the mirors when back out of a parking lot?
Yep, only dummys.
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termitestudios 11:16PM (4/09/2008)
Couldn't people, like, you know, look out their windows? You know, maybe turn their head to either side?
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John 5:57AM (4/10/2008)
Safe driving includes keeping a constant awareness of everything around you and spotting sudden moves by others. Turning your head regularly is not a reasonable answer.
I want to be able to scan my mirrors regularly and I will find these new features very useful. I would like it though if the warning lights for the radar was located in the left and right mirrors.
ronnie schreiber 11:27PM (4/09/2008)
Mobileye makes a camera based system that can be used for blind spot, lane departure and hazard detection as well as adaptive cruise control. The software they have that analyzes the video image is pretty slick.
http://www.mobileye.com/default.asp?PageId=0
BMW is offering their system in the 5 Series, and Volvo has it on the S80, V70 and XC70.
They also offer the technology in a line of aftermarket consumer products.
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