Digital Rear View Mirror Available in Japan (Not for Prime)

i would like one.

 

The camera mount seems so big

 

I would love to have the camera integrated in the shark fin antenna

 

Is there a way to get this in the US? Do you know what it costs? I wonder what the buttons on it control, and if you keep the garage door opening functionality.

 

Okay, thanks. I noticed that the rear-window defogger lines pattern is substantially different in the photo that shows the camera for this setup. That window isn't curved, either. Do you think this is meant for the Prime? The defogger pattern on our rear windows is really odd.

 

Okay, thanks. It's hard to understand why that camera piece would be so huge, anyway.

 

I want this! But probably not for the price they are asking. Japanese genuine Toyota options are soooooo expensive. Do they say how much it cost?

 

Thanks. $536 in today's rate. Not as high as I thought. I guess this figure does not including shipping and installation cost.

 

I'd pay that if it would work with the Prime. I guess the only questions are whether the rear camera could be mounted to the Prime's hatch window, and if that dead-center vertical defroster at the top of the Prime's hatch window line would be in the way of the camera's lens.

 

I don't think that is the end of the inquiry. Perhaps it could still be mounted to the Prime's back window despite the curve. Maybe it could be modified or tape used on it. Or maybe that big housing isn't necessary, or another camera could be used with the mirror.

The central vertical defogger line I mentioned might be a bigger problem.

One question is does any version of the Prime or other Prius with that curved back window come with this or a similar setup.

 

I keep wondering why the back camera housing is so large. A camera certainly doesn't need to be that large. It seems to be purposefully designed to occupy a certain amount of the rear window's real estate. That isn't a good thing, of course. If you have to use the regular mirror, it would be in the way and block much of the view out of the back of the Prius.

So what could taking up that much space do? Give room for some sort of sensor(s)? It is so large that it looks like it has room for a small solar panel to power the camera, but that wouldn't make much sense. Even if it was that, why not make it wider instead of taller.

And what is the dark round circle on the side? Some sort of knob? It looks like you might be able to adjust the verticle angle of the camera.

 

It shouldn't need a heat sink, and I wouldn't think black plastic sitting in the sun would dissipate much heat. My dash cam is in the sun constantly with no problems. Still, it is a possibility.

You make a good point about the front camera's housing being large. I don't know why that is the case, either. At least the front camera's housing isn't blocking anything important in the driver's field of vision. That back one is really, really blocking a lot. I suppose it could be a heavy camera and need a large area for the tape to mount it, but I doubt that. I wonder how bad it looks from the exterior of the car.

I'm thinking the camera may be motorized and adjustable from the mirror. But that still doesn't explain why the base of the triangle extends so far. It is extending at a widening angle, like the camera's field of vision, so my best guess is that it has something to do with that. I just don't see why that would be necessary. If the camera took advantage of that entire blocked area, all of the defogger lines would get in the way.

You'd think that in the day of the internet it would be easy to get some detailed photos of all aspects of this setup, but I guess there really isn't a way.

 

Given the size and shape, my guess for its largess is to let people "see" what the camera sees. If you made it a tiny bubble, like the minimum the camera and interconnects need, then slapped on a rear window sticker, you might block half your visibility even though the camera itself is unobstructed. The whole delay in video rear view has always been liability issues, not technological issues. This smells like trying to avoid a lawsuit.