One frustrating thing about living in any neighbourhood that gets an influx of SUVs is that it gets hard to see past rows of tall cars to work out when it's safe to nose out or back out of your driveway. Ford is tackling this kind of problem with a new split-view camera mounted on the front and rear bumpers that gives drivers a 180-degree view from the bits of the car that poke into traffic first, effectively giving them the ability to see around corners.
The results are displayed in a tri-panel display that makes it very clear which side an object is coming from, like an upgraded rear view camera that can look forward as well. Split view can be accessed at the touch of a button, and it'll shut itself off automatically when the vehicle reaches 10 km/h (6.2 mph).
As the cameras will be exposed to a fair bit of road grime that could block their view, each will be looked after by a tiny telescopic jet washer that'll blast the grit off regularly.
Split View will roll out first on the 2015 Edge, followed by the 2016 explorer in the United States and China. Europe will get it on the new S-MAX and Galaxy, and something similar will be available on most Fords globally by 2020.
Source: Ford
