• Location company: Eindhoven
• Number of employees: 4

Eighteen per cent of new cars have self-dimming rear-view mirrors. Miortech, a company at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, is developing a rear-view mirror using ‘electrowetting display technology’. This mirror is distinctive in terms of its rapid response time and the option of a display function.

Electrowetting display technology

A self-dimming mirror comprises a reflective layer that enables the reflection to be varied using an electrical current. The housing contains a sensor that detects that it is dark and a sensor that detects obstructive incoming light. The technology is familiar but in Miortech’s opinion there is room for improvement through the application of the electrowetting display technology of the Philips spin-off Liquavista. The dimming works as follows: the mirror is subdivided into pixels, small ‘trays’ of water-repellent material, filled with a mix of dark oil and water. An electrical current makes the hydrophobic material of the pixel less and less water-repellent. Then the water forces the darker oil to the corner of the pixel, and the mirror remains clear. When the current is switched off, the oil flows back and the mirror darkens.

Display function possibility

Miortech’s CEO, Dr. Hans Feil, co-founder of Philips spin-off Liquavista: “Electrowetting generates a faster response time. By colouring the oil, the colour intensity of the pixel can be varied by the current. Moreover, this technology enables the mirror function to be combined with a display function. A driver looks in his mirror four times a minute and can also read information on, for instance, temperature, direction and tyre pressure.”

Prototype

The founders, Dr. Hans Feil and Ben Bordes, worked successfully for years within Philips on the high-tech development and commercialisation of new technologies. Miortech expects to be able to present its first prototypes this year to players in the automotive market.

External support

Brainport Development helped Miortech attract regional investors and on the track of Incubator3+ . The BOM and Technostars have invested in Miortech and the company has also received a Challenger credit from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to continue development of the technology. Given their own experiences, Feil and Bordes advise other starters in Southeast Brabant to ‘get talking to Brainport Development.’

More information: www.miortech.com