Most vehicles come with sun visors that fold down to block the top portion of their windshield, preventing the driver and passenger from being blinded by the sun if it’s in front. For the most part, sun visors are an effective way to shield yourself from the harsh rays while maintaining a view of the road. However, sun visors will also obscure a significant portion of your windshield and field of view. Gentex sun visors are meant to solve this issue.
What Is the Gentex Sun Visor?
Gentex is introducing a new state-of-the-art sun visor that resembles a giant tinted lens. Depending on the sun’s intensity, this glass panel can flip down and dim automatically. The brighter the conditions, the more the sun visor will dim. Unlike a regular sun visor that’s completely opaque, Gentex sun visors are translucent to maintain the driver’s peripheral vision.
Unlike regular sun visors that need to be flipped down manually, the glass panel can be permanently flipped down and it can dim automatically depending on the lighting conditions. These auto sun visors are going to be much more convenient to use, especially for the driver since they might not need to remove their hands from the steering wheel.
What Is Gentex?
Gentex is a company that develops technology for automotive and aerospace applications. In the past, the company developed the auto-dimming rear view mirror and the digital rear view mirror. Gentex mirrors are now found in many modern vehicles around the world.
Gentex uses a process called electrochromics, which makes a material darker using electricity. The company claims they have a special formulation that makes their dimmable glass have the greatest range from light to dark, plus the best opacity and clarity. The company has also incorporated its technology in side mirrors, lighting, forward-facing cameras, and vehicle advanced driver assistance systems. Currently, the company already makes 50 million dimmable glass items annually. One of its products is the dimmable windows found in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Overall, the company’s innovations are meant to respond to people wanting greater automation, enhanced safety, and seamless connectivity.
Gentex Dimmable Visors
Aside from being a translucent panel, Gentex’s automatic sun visor can also become a reflective surface, allowing its dimmable visor to double as a vanity mirror with the press of a button. The company is also further pushing the limits of its technology by making the visor function like a heads-up display, giving the driver key information such as alerts or navigation cues directly in the driver’s line of sight.
Other Innovative Gentex Automotive Products
Gentex also makes panoramic sunroofs that have the same auto-dimming feature. Unfortunately, previous generations of their dimmable glass required constant power for their glass panels to remain dark. This year, they’re developing a sunroof that doesn’t require a constant flow of power, which can reduce battery load.
Will Gentex Products End Up on Real Vehicles?
Vehicle designers and manufacturers are still the ones who’ll determine if they want to adopt this technology in their upcoming models.
Gentex sun visors might seem like the future, but it’s difficult to tell whether this product is useful, revolutionary, or just one of those cool gimmicks without hands-on experience.
That said, its previous products have been well-received by the automotive industry. But just like any new product, brands need to adopt them first so that consumers can properly see how they’ll perform in real-world testing. Until then, the Gentex sun visor will remain on showroom floors like the one in CES 2025 as prototypes.
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