[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ: GNTX) (“the Company”), the Zeeland, Michigan-based manufacturer of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and camera-based driver-assist and lighting-assist systems for the automotive industry, commercial fire protection products and dimmable aircraft windows, announced today that it is supplying auto-dimming mirrors with the Company's own SmartBeam® lighting assist system, as well as auto-dimming mirrors with a camera-based driver-assist system for both the new 2013 Lincoln MKS full-size premium sedan and 2013 Lincoln MKT three-row premium crossover.

Gentex‘s SmartBeam feature uses a relatively low-resolution camera to automatically turn a vehicle’s high beams on and off according to surrounding traffic conditions. The Gentex driver-assist system uses a high-resolution, multi-function camera combined with algorithmic decision-making to perform Automatic High-Beam Control, Lane Keeping and Driver Alert. The system was developed in conjunction with Mobileye®, the global pioneer in the development of vision-based driver-assistance systems. In Lane Keeping mode, the driver is warned by vibrating the steering wheel, while the Lane Keeping function warns the driver by applying torque at the steering wheel to direct the vehicle back into the lane. Driver Alert monitors the vehicle's lane position and can notify a driver of signs of inattentiveness with a coffee cup warning light that appears on the dashboard instrument cluster. Certain components, including the camera and microprocessor, are integrated into a Gentex interior auto-dimming mirror.

“Both the MKS and MKT are part of the reinvention of the Lincoln brand, and it's inspiring for us to see our auto-dimming mirrors as standard equipment offering these cutting-edge technologies through different packages on these models,” said Gentex Senior Vice President Mark Newton. “Drivers have the choice of purchasing the MKS or MKT with either our SmartBeam high beam lighting-assist mirror product or our mirror with the driver-assist package. This is a good example of the OEM providing the consumer with the choice of technology options that best fit their own wants and needs.”

Newton said the Gentex in-mirror driver-assist system that integrates this Mobileye technology was in development for over two years. He said that Gentex purchases an imager for which the Mobileye algorithms are specifically designed, and builds a camera assembly with it. The Company also purchases a Mobileye EyeQ™ vision-system-on-a-chip that has Mobileye driver-assist algorithms in it, and then designs an electronic system with it that interfaces with the vehicle. The Gentex electronic system is housed within the interior rearview mirror and works with the Gentex camera assembly incorporated in the mirror mount.

“Having these driver assist systems finally hit the market with some volume is the culmination of significant development and testing at Gentex,” said Newton. “This is an important new technology area for us, and we believe that there are many vehicles that can and will take advantage of the styling benefits afforded by housing these complex systems in the interior rearview mirror housing instead of adding another box to the ‘sensor farms’ that are showing up on the windscreens of other vehicle models.”