GENTEX TO SHOWCASE DIGITAL VISION AND NEW HOMELINK AFTERMARKET PRODUCTS AT 2017 SEMA SHOW
LAS VEGAS, NV, October 30, 2017 — At this year’s SEMA show, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) will launch a new dual-camera-input version of its Full Display Mirror (FDM), demonstrate an intelligent headlamp with a built-in high-beam-assist system for vehicles or motorcycles, and showcase a new two-button, waterproof version of its HomeLink programmable transmitters for ATVs, motorcycles and lawn equipment.
These and other products, along with the 2017 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R racecar, will be featured in a new, two-story booth (North Hall, #12071) designed to showcase the breadth and depth of Gentex’s expanding automotive-vision and vehicle-connectivity product lineup.
Gentex is a long-time supplier of electro-optical products for the global automotive industry. It supplies nearly every major automaker with connected-car technologies and advanced electronic features that optimize driver vision and enhance driving safety.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show is the premiere automotive specialty products trade event in the world. This year’s show takes place October 31 to November 3, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The SEMA show is unique,” said Steve Downing, Gentex president and chief operating officer. “It allows us to promote existing products to consumers while simultaneously assessing the automotive aftermarket’s interest in the technologies we’re currently evaluating and developing for our automaker customers. It helps guide our product development efforts.”
Much of Gentex’s recent development efforts have focused on its Full Display Mirror, which consists of a mirror-borne LCD and custom, Gentex-designed camera engineered specifically for automotive vision. The FDM functions as a standard automatic-dimming rearview mirror, but with the flip of a lever, a clear, bright, LCD display appears through the mirror’s reflective surface, providing a wide, unobstructed rearward view.
This year at SEMA, Gentex is debuting an aftermarket FDM available with two camera inputs. One camera provides unobstructed, panoramic rear vision; the second acts as a backup camera and shows the view immediately behind the rear bumper when the vehicle is in reverse.
Gentex is also supporting the emerging home automation trend with a new two-button, waterproof version of its HomeLink programmable transmitter, which operates garage doors, security gates, home lighting and other radio-frequency-controlled devices. It includes a self-contained, long-life battery and easily mounts in the dash of ATVs, motorcycles, golf carts, lawn equipment and more.
At SEMA, Gentex will also demonstrate new stand-alone SmartBeam modules, which automate a vehicle’s high-beam usage according to traffic conditions. They combine the camera, optics, microprocessor, control algorithms, and vehicle bus communications in one flexible, stand-alone module. One design integrates SmartBeam into a standard “7-inch round” headlamp capable of operating as a plug-n-play automatic high-beam system for most Jeeps and motorcycles.
Also on display at the Gentex stand will be Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R racecar. For the 2017 race season, Gentex equipped the car with a digital rear vision system, which consisted of a racing version of its Full Display Mirror and a rearward-facing camera assembly. Wayne Taylor Racing and its drivers, Jordan and Ricky Taylor, were recently crowned team and driver champions in the Prototype class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team claimed five straight victories to open the season, which helped make the Taylors the winningest drivers in series history.
“Gentex has provided rear vision technologies to elite race teams for several years now because it challenges us to engineer the most robust systems possible,” said Downing. “Cadillac, which was the first automaker to debut this tech on their vehicles, brought us together with Wayne Taylor Racing, and we couldn’t be prouder to have been a technology partner for their historic race season. We’re excited to let people get a look at this amazing car.”
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) is a supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and electronics to the automotive industry, dimmable aircraft windows for aviation markets, and fire protection products to the fire protection market. Visit the company website at www.gentex.com.
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