Who needs a rear view mirror when your car has no rear, at least virtually.
Researchers from Japan’s University of Keio have built a “see-through” Toyota Prius, that allows a driver to look through the rear seats and bodywork to see any obstructions behind, according to CNET.com.
The system is an application of previously developed optical-cloaking technology, which uses a camera mounted on the back of an object then projects that image onto its front, making it essentially invisible to anyone looking at it from that direction.
Read: Mercedes-Benz builds an "invisible" car
Details on the Keio project are still scarce, but rather than layering video over the rear seats, it appears to deploy a reflective screen in the driver’s line of site when they turn their head, and doing the reverse of filling in the blanks by displaying what can’t be seen through the window openings.
The technology will be publicly unveiled at the Digital Content Expo in Tokyo at the end of October.