Valeo's XtraVue uses cameras to make your trailer 'invisible' at CES 2019
No need to worry about what's behind your trailer, because you can see straight through the thing.
It's like you're towing nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all...
If you're new to it, towing a trailer can be an exercise in frustration and failed attempts at reversing. Valeo's new tech at CES 2019, however, aims to eliminate those woes by making the trailer invisible.
Valeo's XtraVue Trailer system made its debut at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. Building upon an earlier rendition of the same system, XtraVue trailer uses some surprisingly simple tech to make towing easier. By installing one camera on the rear of the towing vehicle and one camera on the rear of the trailer, Valeo's tech will combine the images to display an image that renders the trailer virtually transparent.
Last year's iteration was a bit more complex -- still impressive, just harder to pull off in production. The 2018 version relied on video feeds from other connected vehicles and roadside infrastructure, which means any production version of this system would need a pretty well fleshed out environment. This latest version only requires the hardware installed on the vehicle and its trailer.
Valeo's demonstration images show the "invisible" trailer displayed on a separate screen, but any production version would likely be integrated into the infotainment system. Similar to other trailer-specific apps in infotainment systems, a user may only be a couple button presses away from ensuring tailgaters aren't living on your trailer's bumper.
Any production version would probably be integrated into the car's infotainment system.