Caravans become ‘transparent’

You will soon be able to see straight through your caravan as you reverse it into a tight campsite. No, it’s not magic, but rather a clever combination of hardware and software.

American carmaker GMC uses a 15-camera network that allows more than a 360 degree view. The technology is currently only available in the GMC Sierra (not the most attractive bakkie in the world) and the Yanks seem satisfied with the system so far.

Here’s how it works: when you engage reverse gear, you turn on two cameras: one on the back of the bakkie and a second camera on the back of your caravan. The scene that the camera on the back of your vehicle sees is displayed on the touch screen inside the cabin, but the scene that the camera on the back of the caravan sees is superimposed on top of the first scene with smart software but only where the caravan should be.

The result is that the caravan appears invisible, with only an outline of the caravan so you don’t get a fright and think you’ve lost it somewhere along the way.

And that’s only two of the cameras. Others show an image from above the tow bar. There are also cameras on either side of the vehicle so you can see what's happening next to your caravan. There is even a camera inside the caravan for when you want to see if everything is still where you packed it, and not sliding around on the floor - this is obviously also useful when towing a horse trailer and you want to check on Golden Irish, your Sun Met trophy winner.