Side view mirror - magnifying lens?
 

Suppose you were making efficient cars, and you had to comply with vehicle safety standards and mirror laws. You need to have a reflective mirror outside the car, but what if you have a tiny mirror outside, and a large magnifying lens inside?

Perhaps someone more familiar with different types of lenses could tell me if it's even possible to do without an equally large lens outside the car to focus light on the tiny mirror.

I had another tiny mirror idea. You need to have mirrors that provide a clear view of the road behind you, but who says you need to be able to see the mirrors? It's basically the same idea as the above, but with a camera pointing at the tiny mirror, and some software to brighten and magnify the image.

Matt,

A long time ago, I saw a set up that had a "bubble" formed in the side (vent?) window and the mirror was on the inside. It stuck out about 3" and the trailing shape was pretty sleek.

This give you some angle to see to the rear, but with much less drag than with typical "paddle" mirrors.

Hopefully, if VW or Ford or GM decides to push through a change that allows video mirrors, then the law could be changed. Heck, they could even correct the lens optically for the barrel distortion.

I'm afraid that making such a large magnifying lens inside would be very hard (=expensive). People are made in many different sizes and shapes, so the optical system would have to work at many different angles and distances to be useable by both for the grandma that leans far forward almost touching the steering wheel with her chin, and for the teenager sitting very low and far away from the wheel.

Hmm, after a moment of thought, I think I've heard about something similar, only with a prism instead of two lenses. It stuck out a little to collect the image which was later reflected onto a 'screen' on the inside of the door. I have absolutely no idea where I saw this, though.

Limited discussion of state mirror laws in this thread:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mbo-15376.html

:o

OK, current state laws/regs are woefully out of date.
IMHO, this topic justifies getting a little silly.

What if you had a state legal mirror placed so that it is flat against the
driver's door glass and...

it reflected the screen of an interior located LED screen that displayed a
side-to-side reversed rearward image from a digital camera outside the car.

I mean, there's a legal mirror, and it is integral to the driver getting a
rearward view. Isn't that what the antiquated, outdated material specific
state laws-- they specify a mirror, not any method of providing an acceptable
view -- require to be in compliance?

This arrangement would be very aero, and you do in fact look directly into
the mirror to see rearward. What's not to like?