Gentex deliver 45 million auto-dimming electrochromic mirrors per year, for 600 vehicle models around the globe. They use electricity to change the visible-light transmissivity of a transparent gel sandwiched between two glass or film substrates with transparent, conductive coatings. As electricity passes through the conductive coatings and across the substrates, the gel darkens.
Removing the current returns the gel to its transparent state, and the voltage can be precisely controlled to vary the light transmittance through a wide opacity range. In its fully darkened state, the dimmable glass blocks more than 99.999 per cent of visible light, and innovative thin-film coatings block the majority of harmful IR and UV light.
Now, Gentex are developing electrochromic dimmable sunvisors. They fold down like a traditional visor, but rather than an opaque panel it’s a clear one which can variably darken as desired by the driver or passenger – on demand or automatically. This reduces glare while maintaining forward vision, unlike conventional visors.
DVN comment: We’ve been reporting over the years on Gentex’s work in this area (2023, 2024). It’s great to see this proposal gaining traction to reduce glare, including from oncoming headlamps, and we’re watching Gentex along with the likes of Bosch and Apple to see what solutions come to market, in what forms. So far, it looks as if Gentex are ahead in the race.
Headlight glare countermeasures under discussion in the GRE glare task force will take time to enter the market, and they’ll come only on new vehicles – they won’t address vehicles already on the road. Solutions like these see-through visors, on the other hand, could be readily retrofitted to existing vehicles.
