See thru A-pillars

[The motor guy]

Why don't they make see thru A-pillars? I get it's a structural support, but it's quite a blind spot in some vehicles, imo

 

[kschachn]

Why don't they make see thru A-pillars? I get it's a structural support, but it's quite a blind spot in some vehicles, imo

What would you suggest that would give them a similar strength to steel?

 

[vavavroom]

Structural aluminum oxynitride* or ALON components with sufficient resistance to breakage are not yet here. Maybe in a lab but not in the wild.

*translucent "aluminum" - it's actually a ceramic and while translucent and very durable it can shatter. Maybe it could be composited with a translucent urethane resin although optical clarity will likely suffer.

All the pillars have been getting beefier due to safety mandates with impaired visibility as a consequence.

 

[Nick1994]

What

 

[MrHorspwer]

Won't be long.

Once thin, flexible LCD screens become cost effective, you'll have the A-pillar trim wrapped as an LCD screen, displaying an image from an exterior camera. It'll making a seamless composite image across the windshield, the video screen A-pillar, and the side window. No more blind spot.

And people on BITOG will complain about it being too expensive and too much technology.

 

[DuckRyder]

What would you suggest that would give them a similar strength to steel?

<scotty voice > The shields ... </scotty voice>

 

[vavavroom]

I wish I could post that clip from The Voyage Home in which Scotty gives a 20th century manufacturer the formula for transparent aluminum: Al3Ag2H6.

 

[Nick1994]

“Cars don't have see-through A-pillars mainly due to engineering and safety challenges. The A-pillars, which are the front pillars on either side of the windshield, play a crucial role in a car's structural integrity. They help protect passengers in the event of a rollover or collision and support the roof of the car. Here are a few reasons why transparent or see-through A-pillars aren't common:

1. **Strength and Safety**: A-pillars must be made of strong materials, like steel or aluminum, to withstand the forces involved in accidents. Transparent materials like glass or plastic generally don't offer the same structural strength, making it difficult to maintain safety standards.

2. **Material Limitations**: Transparent materials such as glass or polycarbonate, while strong, can't match the durability and impact resistance of metals used in A-pillars. Using them would likely compromise the car's crash safety performance.

3. **Manufacturing Costs**: Developing transparent yet strong and safe A-pillars would require advanced materials and engineering, which could significantly increase production costs.

4. **Technological Alternatives**: Some modern cars use technology to mitigate A-pillar blind spots. For example, cameras and sensors, combined with displays or heads-up augmented reality systems, can offer a clearer view of the areas obscured by the pillars without altering their design.

While see-through A-pillars are a compelling idea for better visibility, the trade-offs in safety and cost have kept car manufacturers from widely adopting this concept.” -ChatGPT

 

[kschachn]

Won't be long.

Once thin, flexible LCD screens become cost effective, you'll have the A-pillar trim wrapped as an LCD screen, displaying an image from an exterior camera. It'll making a seamless composite image across the windshield, the video screen A-pillar, and the side window. No more blind spot.

And people on BITOG will complain about it being too expensive and too much technology.

Sure.

 

[The motor guy]

Well they could make the trim peices that cover the ugly steel smaller atleast.

 

[KGMtech]

Camera's can replace the blocked zone with digital image on a flexible monitor integrated into the A pillar. I will start the patent application ASAP.

 

[dishdude]

The car periscope would solve all these problems.

 

[Pew]

Won't be long.

Once thin, flexible LCD screens become cost effective, you'll have the A-pillar trim wrapped as an LCD screen, displaying an image from an exterior camera. It'll making a seamless composite image across the windshield, the video screen A-pillar, and the side window. No more blind spot.

And people on BITOG will complain about it being too expensive and too much technology.

"Back in my day, we didn't need these fancy screens. We didn't even bother looking."

 

[Jetronic]

Well they could make the trim peices that cover the ugly steel smaller atleast.

There be airbags and often air vents behind them.

 

[vavavroom]

Just wear a helmet and stick your head out the side window.

 

[JimPghPA]

Structural aluminum oxynitride* or ALON components with sufficient resistance to breakage are not yet here. Maybe in a lab but not in the wild.

*translucent "aluminum" - it's actually a ceramic and while translucent and very durable it can shatter. Maybe it could be composited with a translucent urethane resin although optical clarity will likely suffer.

All the pillars have been getting beefier due to safety mandates with impaired visibility as a consequence.

Don't forget, what ever that would be, it has to handle those forces at the entire temperature range it will be used in, and even after it is aged.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Nice adjustable side mirrors with fish eye mirrors will suffice for me.

 

[bobdoo]

I've been riding motorcycles for 55 years.

*I* almost creamed one, because the A pillar *completely* hid him from me.

Now, I move my head side-to-side, so I don't kill anyone.

 

[IndyIan]

Subaru makes a point of minimizing the a pillar size using stronger alloys and removing the door mirror blind spot. Makes a big difference especially for a shorter driver. My Mom is 5'2" and couldn't stand the terrible visibility out of her new 2016 Nissan Rogue after a couple weeks. Couldn't see out the back either with tiny widows and silly huge pillars and the rear view cameras only do so much. Then they started looking for smaller SUV's with better visibility and the Forester was really the only one, so they got that.

On many cars the glass in the corner is all mirror mount and plastic, but they save a few bucks and perhaps some wind noise as subaru went to laminated door glass to quiet wind noise down in 2018.

Makes a surprisingly big difference as even me at 6' occasionally misses seeing something in the big mirror mount blob on my Focus... It was especially annoying at autocross as often the passenger side cones would disappear in the blob a with a bit of body roll when I was trying to look far ahead on a left hand turn...

 

[JimPghPA]

Slightly changing the subject, but still regarding vehicle visibility: I learned something from my mother when I bought her 2001 Chevy Impala. She told me that she liked the thing on the back of the car for helping her judge where the back of the car was while parking. And to think all the time before that I though it was for generating down force when going fast.