The first reversing camera was installed in 1956 on a Buick Centurion. A concept car with futuristic lines made of polyester. This concept car contained (in theory) a cathode ray tube screen showing the driver the space behind the vehicle through a television camera placed in the back of the car.
Sixteen years later, in 1972, it was around Volvo to present the Volvo experimental safety car (VESC) which is a real rolling laboratory, this Volvo VESC announces the intentions of its manufacturer in terms of anti-lock brakes and airbags. and of
telescoping action bumper that sports a rear camera in addition to all the other safety innovations. A 6.5 mm camera, supplied by Mitsubishi Electic, is installed between the rear lights. It returns a black and white image on a small screen located at the top of the center console.
The car is on display at the 1972 Geneva Motor Show.
But for the backup camera to reach industrialization, it will take another two decades. Released in 1991, the Soarer maxi-coupe crowned the Toyota range in Japan. The 4.86 m long machine must show the technological know-how of the brand. In front of him, the driver thus discovers a digital instrumentation (7-segment display) and a central cathode-ray tube screen. Toyota had developed the Toyota Electro Multivision dashboard system, the first of its kind in the world. It combines the functionality of GPS - the data of which is stored on a CD-ROM.
And on the "Limited" version (UZZ31 and 32), which is only sold in Japan, the screen also displays images taken by the camera located at the rear of the vehicle as soon as the driver activates reverse gear. The American version - marketed under the Lexus SC name - was never equipped with this high-tech equipment.
