At the 2008 Automotive Engineering Exposition, Toshiba demonstrated a new technology with the potential to change how drivers view the lowly side mirror. By replacing a vehicle's standard side mirrors with cameras that feed live footage to monitors inside the vehicle, the Toshiba Smart Mirrors can display a yellow, green or red line when another vehicle is getting too close.
Just another added distraction while driving? Maybe, but Smart Mirrors could also be useful, especially in rental cars and trucks where a driver may not be familiar with the size of the vehicle. And it's not all vaporware: The technology behind Toshiba Smart Mirrors is the same silicon that powers the pedestrian recognition system. [Tech On!]