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Night vision now identifies and highlights pedestrians
publication date: Nov 17, 2009
 | | Night-time pedestrians are identified and picked out for drivers in the latest version of the Bosch Night Vision system.
Like its predecessor, this active safety system provides a
high-contrast image of the area immediately ahead of the vehicle. Now,
however, this image is also analysed.
Pedestrians are identified and highlighted on the screen. This allows
the driver to take appropriate action at an early stage, considerably
reducing the risk of accidents involving pedestrians. Analysis of
accident data in Germany compiled in 2005 show, for example, that the
danger of a fatal accident is twice as high at night as during the day.
“Night Vision plus” helps prevent night-time accidents involving
pedestrians. The first production car to feature this system was the
new Mercedes-Benz E-Class in 2009. The technology, known within
Mercedes-Benz as “Night View Assist Plus” is also available on the new
generation S-Class.
The Bosch active night vision system uses four main components to
provide an accurate reproduction of the area immediately ahead of the
vehicle. Infrared headlights, whose beams are invisible to the human
eye, illuminate the road.
The illuminated area is recorded by a camera which is installed behind
the windscreen. The images created then are processed by a control unit
and shown on a high-resolution display in the cockpit. The infrared
headlights have a range of 150 meters, three times more than common
low-beam headlights. At the same time, however, they do not dazzle
oncoming road users.
A separate control unit analyses the camera image pixel by pixel to
pick up the infra red light reflected. Innovative analysis strategies
then allow the system to distinguish between stationary and moving
objects – when a moving object, for example a pedestrian is detected,
it is highlighted on the screen display allowing early reaction by the
driver. |
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