DSUS DS-400GB splits rear-view with GPS
By Ryan Block 
posted Mar 24th 2008 1:43AM
posted Mar 24th 2008 1:43AM
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just don't sell them in the U.K.
Will that reduce the visibility somewhat? (Just asking)
Yeah, by about a third, evidently.
seems a reasonable location. i'd rather it be mirror when not in use though.
"Not a bad idea, but don't you want to be looking forward -- not behind you -- when considering your next turn?"
You mean as compared to down at your dashboard or center console? Just sayin'.
If this is a screen synced to an external rear camera, they can scale the image so that the 2/3rds of the mirror can get you the whole rear view, which make this an excellent idea. If it's just a mirror, they have to have bade the mirror slightly convex to capture the whole rear window, and that distorts your view. Or it's a flat mirror and you only see partially. Short of a camera/screen idea, a good idea poorly implemented.
While I'd love a camera so I could see around the crap we put in the back of the car from time to time, there's a good way to use mirrors not to have a blind spot already:
http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/mirrors/
and if the GPS goes dark after every instruction, and is behind glass (think iPhone touchscreen tech), it'll turn back into a mirror when there's no instructions up. which would be leat.
"and if the GPS goes dark after every instruction, and is behind glass (think iPhone touchscreen tech), it'll turn back into a mirror when there's no instructions up. which would be leat."
Doesn't sound like you actually have a GPS unit. You don't just look at it when there's an instruction. People are people; you're not going to remember everything about the last instruction and you're not going to know what the next turn looks like or how many intersections you have to go before the turn.
You're also going to want to know the distance to your next maneuver at all times. The whole point of GPS is that you have this info on demand. It's not just about instructions.
It has to be on all the time. It can't flicker on and off. That would be even more distracting and obviously less useful.
This mirror will provide just what i have always needed, a larger rear blind spot.
It would be much smarter if they put the screen below the mirror instead of in the mirror. A windshield heads up display or DLP projected map on to the road would be even better.
The way I look at it, as long as the driver doesn't need to move their head to view the GPS display, it's all good. However, I do see a potential issue of having to touch the display when required. Imagine yourself driving, the car is shaking slightly, you are required to raise your arm over your shoulder trying to make route changes with the display. Sure there might be voice functionality, but that ain't perfect either.
good point. device is dangerous imo. imagine the night time glow coming from it. the eye is attracted to light and would distract from the view of the rear mirror.
"the eye is attracted to light and would distract"
You are the first person I have ever heard make this point. I preach this all the time. In Georgia, where I live, people think they should all turn on their hazard flashers when there is snow or heavy rain. It turns the interstate into a sea of confusion and distraction. Every time it happens I get terrified. It really feels like you are going to die. I learned to drive up north where we regularly deal with snow measured in feet, and in South Florida where every rain is torrential and causes "white out". I never felt intimidated by weather until I got to Georgia. Sad thing is, everything is mild except for the heat.
A terrible idea to obstruct/distract your rear view. As a driver you get trained to spot movements in your peripheral vision and in mirrors glancing at them. The additional time required to analyze what's showing the rear view and what's the changing GPS map/directions will only get drivers to react slower. I am not a big fan of regular in-car GPS units either as being mostly distractive (like someone constantly telling you how to drive). What would be a good idea is to have a heads-up overlay on the windshield of a limited amount of GPS data, like some expensive cars display the tachometer/speedo info.
I agree that this is a stupid idea because as a driver with a navigation system, i recognize how dangerous it can be looking at these things and not the road. We all want to believe we won't be distracted but, the truth is, YES we will be.
The best place for a Navigation system is high on the dashboard (i.e S550, 2008 Accord, Infiniti M45,etc) this way you can take a quick peek at the screen without taking your eyes off the road. Older Nav units mounted in the middle of the centerstack (i.e. 2007 GM trucks, Chryslers, Fords, etc) require you to look too far down.
I do not agree with the HUD for the windshield. Jets can have them because their is nothing ahead of you but sky in a jet. Trying to focus on a windshield HUD display causes vision tunneling and the road to become out of focus. Have you ever tried driving a Corvette or a Cadillac XLR / STS with the HUD display? It really isn't all its cracked up to be.
This tech has been out in Japan for quite some time now, so nothing really new there. It's actually a pretty good idea to merge the two.
People complain about it being a distrating location... Not really considering you should be glancing at your rear-view often enough to see what's behind you and it's still in the line-of-sight with the road in front of you instead of looking down at something on the dash, or worse yet, in your radio console area. If they incorporate the GPS antenna into the back of the mirror, that's less cables to worry about hiding, though I guess there's the power cable to worry about; nothing that cannot be ran up and around the window in the seam.
wtf do you need 400gb for?!?
and how the hell do they accomplish this in a small space, if it obviouly isnt a SSD?
Please tell me this is just a idiotic name?
it's just an idiotic name. kinda like mike danger. actually i take that back, mike danger is not idiotic.
The display is probably just a display and GPS unit with a cable going somewhere else. The guts of the system are probably under the seat with
The best intelligent idea would be to project the gps on the front windshield itself, they could develop the technology in the BMW M5, i am driving one, and once you activate the M function your speedometer, tachometer and all are projected on your windshield using a special technology, but it is translucent, thus i can still keep a proper eye on the road while having a look at the readings of the console...
the word fail is written all over this.
A better location for GPS is either on the dash or high up on the front panel. This requires minimal eye/head movement. Ideally of course the GPS would be projected onto the windsheild HUD style appearing to float off slightly to on the right side of the hood.
What about problems caused by your eyes having to have to switch between focusing on the very close GPS display, and the image in the mirror (a long way away)? This GPS would seem to be far closer to your eyes than your dashboard instruments.
As said by others a HUD is far better.
I actually did this years back for a long journey - I printed out the instructions on a 1/4 of an A4 sheet, rescanned the image, mirrored it, and re-printed it. So the text was wrong reading on the paper, but when placed on the dash behind the steering wheel I got readable instuctions apppearing to be at the front of bonnet.
What is the difference where it is? If you are looking at anything but the road you are risking bumper-humping™ someone anyway. Listening more than looking is always best.
I agree with most of the comments here.. Not a good location. If i may re-iterate a few good points..
Small location on Rearview mirror. It's a little give and take with it being on that mirror. Don't want to obstruct the rearview of the driver (more than necessary) but also want to give enough space to view GPS properly...
Personally, I prefer the GPS screen being a little closer to the middle of the windshield... because that way you atleast have the road in your background.. with this, you wouldn't be viewing as much as the road as I'd like...
My 2 cents..
Thats kind of strange...not the product itself but the fact that i was looking at an ebay item last night almost identical to this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Rearview-Mirror-w-GPS-Navigation-Bluetooth-Rev-Camera_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38653QQihZ002QQitemZ120236255406QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
Nice, it will still require the driver to take their eyes off of the road like the other GPS units already out there. Someone needs to come up with a simple multi-color HUD.
Eight posts in a row, that's gotta be some sort of record for you, huh, Ryan?
O good. A small illegible screen to look at as you drive off the road. At least idiots will blame their GPS. Like they currenty do.
Now you can crash looking forwards OR backwards! :)
Not good for usability, but a helluva lot better than the idiots that suction-cup their GPS to the middle of their windshield, then pull it forward so it blocks a significant part of the driver's 1-2'o clock vision. Put your GPS low to the dashboard people!
Oh. I thought I was being clever. :(
What happened to BSUS and CSUS?