LATEST TRENDS IN AUTOMOBILES

R.RAGUL
B.TECH. MECHATRONICS-II YEAR
raguldhanalakshmi@gmail.com
FUTURA ID: FID2307RAG
S.M.NAAVEEN KUMAR
B.TECH. EEE-II YEAR
naaveen95@gmail.com
FUTURA ID: FID5695S M
SASTRA UNIVERSITY - TANJORE.

Abstract:

Keywords:

All the automobile industries are

trying to reduce the accidents by the help
of safety systems. Since most of the
accidents are happening in the night time,
these industries try to make safety-systems,
that help us to drive safely in the night
time. One of them is the Automotive Night
Vision System. An Automotive Night Vision
System helps to increase the driver's
perception and visible distance in darkness
or poor weather beyond the reach of the
vehicle's headlights. They are currently
offered as optional equipment on certain
premium vehicles.

Night vision systems, Active types,

Passive types, IR sensors, Thermo-graphic
sensors, Display types.

INTRODUCTION:
The human eye
can see images which reflect light from
violet to red in the electromagnetic colour
spectrum. Beyond the visible spectrum for
humans is the light known as short-wave
infrared, light. The human eye is unable to
see that light. Short-wave infrared light is
a term that actually encompasses all
infrared light, but can be broken down into
subcategories.

Infrared light actually

falls into three classifications: nearinfrared (near-IR or NIR), mid-infrared
(mid-IR or MIR) and far-infrared (far-IR
or FIR), also known as thermal-infrared.
The difference between the three types of
infrared light comes down to wavelengths.
Near-IR, or NIR, has the shortest
wavelength -- smaller than 1.5 microns -and is closest to what we as humans can
see as visible light. Far-IR, or FIR, is quite
different. Thermal infrared wavelengths
can be up to 30 microns and FIR is emitted
from an object rather than reflected. In
other words, FIR gives off thermal
signatures while the other two types of
infrared radiation do not.

2. TYPES OF NIGHT
VISION SYSTEMS
The term automotive night vision refers
to a number of systems that help increase
driver awareness when its dark out. These
systems extend the perception of the driver
beyond the limited reach of the headlights
through the use of thermo-graphic
cameras, infrared lights, heads up displays,
and other technologies. Since automotive
night vision can alert drivers to the
presence of potential hazards before they
become visible, these systems can help
prevent accidents.
Automotive night vision systems
are broken into two basic categories,
which are referred to as active and passive.
Active night vision systems uses infrared
light sources to illuminate the darkness
and passive systems rely on the thermal
radiation that is emitted from cars,
animals, and other potential hazards. The
systems both rely on infrared data, but

each one has its own benefits and

drawbacks.

2.1 ACTIVE AUTOMOTIVE

NIGHT VISION SYSTEMS
Active systems are more complex
than passive systems because they use
infrared light sources. Since the infrared
band falls outside the visible spectrum,
these light sources dont cause oncoming
drivers to suffer from temporary night
blindness like high beam headlights can.
That allows the infrared lights to
illuminate objects that are significantly
further away than headlights are able to
reach.
There are two kinds of active
systems: gated and non-gated. The gated
system uses a pulsed light source and a
synchronized camera that enable long
ranges (250m) and high performance in
rain and snow.
Pros: higher resolution image,
superior picture of inanimate objects,
works better in warmer conditions, smaller
sensor can be mounted to rear view mirror.
Cons: does not work as well in fog
or rain, lower contrast for animals, shorter
range of 150-200 meters or 500-650 feet
Since infrared light isnt visible
to the human eye, active night vision
systems use special cameras to relay the
extra visual data. Some systems use
pulsed- infrared lights and others use a
constant light source. These systems dont
work very well in adverse weather
conditions, but they do provide high
contrast images of vehicles, animals and
even inanimate objects.

2.2 PASSIVE NIGHT

VISION SYSTEMS
Passive systems dont use their
own light sources, so they rely on
thermo-graphic cameras to detect thermal
radiation. This tends to work very well
with animals and other vehicles since they
emit a lot of thermal radiation. However,
passive systems have trouble picking up
inanimate objects that are about the same
temperature as the surrounding
environment.
The range of passive night vision
tends to be significantly higher than the
range of active night vision, which is due
to the limited power of the light sources
used by the latter systems. The image
quality produced by the thermo-graphic
cameras also tends to be poor when
compared to active systems, and they dont
work very well in warm weather.

soldier looking through a set of thermal

imaging night-vision goggles would be
able to spot an enemy that is hiding behind
a bush or another object that gives off a
colder signal. Unfortunately, the bright
image could also be a friendly troop.
Thermal imaging
simply isn't clear enough to show that kind
of detail. Image enhancement on the other
hand is very clear. Perhaps you've seen an
example of imaging enhancement night
vision on a news broadcast or military
show. Oftentimes the picture is green, but
other than that, the visual is clear as day.
Image enhancing takes protons from
ambient light and converts them into
electrons. These electrons are then
chemically and electrically converted into
images that appear to be similar to
watching an old black-and-white movie.
There are a number of types of
night vision displays that can relay
infrared or thermo-graphic information to
the driver. The earliest night vision
systems used heads up displays, which
projected warnings and alerts on the
windshield within the drivers field of
vision. Other systems use an LCD that's
mounted on the dash, in the instrument
cluster, or integrated into the head unit.

Working of Night Vision System in Audi A8.

3. WORKING
The two main
methods of night vision are thermal
imaging and photon detection or image
enhancing. Both are used regularly and
both have their own advantages and
drawbacks. Thermal imaging isn't quite as
clear, but it is especially effective for
picking up heat signatures. For instance, a

Night Vision System using Thermal Imaging.

4. WHICH CARS USE

NIGHT VISION SYSTEMS?
Automotive night vision systems
have been around since 1988, but they are
still found primarily in luxury vehicles.
The technology is typically optional
equipment, and it can be quite expensive.
The first night vision systems were
introduced by GM, but a number of other
automakers now have their own versions
of the technology.
Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and
Toyotas Lexus badge all offer active
systems. Other automakers, such as Audi,
BMW and Honda, offer passive options.
General Motor's Cadillac badge also
offered a passive night vision system, but
the option was discontinued in 2004.There
are also a number of systems available in
the aftermarket.

4.1 BMW FIR BASED

AUTOMATIC NIGHT
VISION SYSTEM
Introduced in
2005, the system is based on a 320x240
pixel thermal image sensor that detects
very small temperature differences.
BMW's night vision also uses a 36 wideangle lens, touted as being three times
wider than other systems, that creates an
image of the surroundings based on heat.
This means that warm objects such as
animals or pedestrians appear as bright
shapes, while non-living cold objects are
considerably less visible.
The image
showed on the console monitor is
displayed in black and white just as a
photographic negative. The system has a

respectable working distance of 300

meters or 985 feet and doesn't require any
active illumination. It's worth noting that
the sensor is mounted on the car's front
bumper just below and to one side of the
number plate, while the image is
transmitted to the dashboard monitor.

Other gimmicks of the Automatic Night

Vision System include automatic digital
zoom of 1.5X at speeds exceeding 70
kilometres per hour and electronic panning
function controlled by the angle of the
steering wheel.

Night Vision System in BMW.

4.2 MERCEDES BENZ NIR

BASED NIGHT VIEW
ASSIST
Mercedes Benz's NIR-based one uses a
near-infrared source to illuminate with a
wavelength of around 800nm within 150
meters or 492 feet in front of the car. The
light travels until reaching an obstacle and
the reflected illumination is recorded and
showed on a special display behind the
steering near the speedometer.
Given that the Night View system
does not rely on body temperature, this
system can also detect dead animals or
non-living objects blocking the road.

class. It is the least expensive

type of display.

Night Vision System in Mercedes Benz.

Night Vision Display in Navigation System

5. DISPLAY TYPES
The place of display of the
information lies with the manufacturers
interest.

3. Windshield, via head-up

display. Dimmer knob can
reduce brightness. In this type,
the display is close to the
drivers line of sight. It is the
earliest type of display.

1. Instrument cluster, using a high

resolution liquid crystal display
(LCD). It is the newest type.

Night Vision display in the windshield.

6. ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVNTAGES
2012 Mercedes-Benz CL550 instrument cluster
with night vision display.

2. Navigation System or
Information screen with
displays location further away
from drivers field of vision,
used exclusively by BMW and
the Mercedes Benzs W212 E-

The pros and cons

derive from the core technologies they are
based upon. Probably the biggest
advantage of the FIR- based Automatic
Night Vision System is the range. Thanks
to the passive approach, BMWs night
vision system can work within a 300metre range, while Mercedes Benzs
limited to 150 metres. Another FIR
advantage, albeit its a double- edged one,

is that it only highlights pedestrians and

animals, thus focusing the drive on whats
important. On the other hand, should an
object or dead animal be blocking the
road, Mercedes Benzs NIR- based system
would have the upper hand.
Moving on with
FIRs advantages, it should be noted that
the system handles better fog, as opposed
to the NIR, whose range is considerably
affected by it. Apart from the decisive
advantage in resolution provided by
Mercedes Benzs NIR system, another
major pro is the cost, as the sensor lying at
the heart of Night View Assist is
considerably cheaper than that of
Automatic Night Vision System.
The placement of the monitor is also
in Mercedes Benzs favour as drivers only
have to look at the speedometer area to
study the road and not turn their heads
away to the dashboard. The NIR advantage
list includes sensitivity to glare from
oncoming vehicles headlights or other
NIR units and the object reflectivity
dependence.

7. DOES NIGHT VISION

REALLY HELP REDUCE
ACCIDENTS?
According to the European
Commission for the Automobile Industry,
nearly 50 per cent of all accidents occur at
night. Since the same study showed about
60 per cent less traffic at night, its clear
that a disproportionate number of
accidents occur between dusk and dawn.
Since night vision isnt widely available,
there is no conclusive data. A study
performed by the National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration even

revealed that some people are willing to

drive faster at night with the aid of these
systems, which could lead to more
accidents.
However, other technologies that
increase night time visibility have been
shown to reduce accidents. Since
technologies like adaptive headlights have
helped reduce night time accidents, its
possible that a wider adoption of night
vision could have similar effects.
Night vision systems can detect objects
that are more than 500 feet away, but
traditional headlights typically only
illuminate objects that are about 180 feet
away. Since the stopping distance of a car
can easily be longer than 180 feet, its
clear that the proper use of a night vision
system can help an alert driver avoid
certain collisions.

8. CONCLUSION
In this paper, we
have explained the Night Vision System,
its types, pros and cons. Even though this
system help to reduce accidents, since
people are trying to misuse this system by
trying to drive faster at night , we can add
some more features like lane assist system,
overtaking assist, etc. to reduce the
accidents. We can also improve it by
adding new features to reduce the speed of
the car, when the distance between this car
and the vehicle in the front is less than 15
metres. Placing sensors in the sides of the
car increases the safety, by alerting us
about the vehicles coming in the left or
right side of the car.

REFERENCES

Automatic night vision systemsWikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autom
otive_night_vision
How in dash night vision systems
works

http://electronics.howstuffworks.co
m/gadgets/automotive/in-dashnight-vision-system.htm
How night vision system works?
http://www.autoevolution.com/