Return of See-in-the-Dark Cars

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are rolling on the outside night-vision cars this spring that use competing infrared technologies. They'll suffer you see up to 500 to 1000 feet down the road (5 to 10 next to the firsts of driving time at 60 mph)

Night vision is a generic bourn and is also part of many products' names (as in BMW Night Vision, shown at left and Mercedes-Benz Night Vision Assist, right). It works via an infrared camera that dioceses in the dark and provides a black-and-white image upon a dash-mounted display. Previous combination of parts to form a wholes employed far infrared (FIR), also called passive IR, using the heat emitted through objects themselves -- say, pedestrians on the outside for a late night stray on unlit highways, Bambi bounding across the roadway, Corvette twin exhausts, or parked cars still exuding engine heat an hour later.

That's what BMW uses in the Night Vision, available in March in 5 Series sedans and wagons and in the 6 Series coupe and convertible. The image displays upon BMW's center-mounted LCD control panel, used also for navigation and entertainment controls; a split-screen method lets you do two things at one time In Europe, pricing was plant at 1,950 euros, equivalent to $2400

Mercedes' of recent origin flagship S-Class employs a near infrared (or active) combination of parts to form a whole with an IR illuminator (a light filtered to emit alone the infrared spectrum) that bathes the roadway ahead. The image is displayed in a large LCD panel in the middle of the S-Class instrument cluster.

Both automakers could have used head-up display technology to create a virtual image that appear (to the eye) to float just about the brow edge of the hood. on the contrary research indicated some drivers wanted to young ox using the virtual image, to the exclusion of the real thing. (Perhaps having seen Star Wars, drivers wanted to make trial of first-hand the-force-be-with-you driving.) Instead, the displays are placed in the way that it's easy to glance at them, on the other hand they're not directly in the driver's forward line of vision.

Whose is better? Passive has more range; BMW claims 300 meter while Mercede claims 150 meter for its active a whole (Either is better than the range of low-beam headlights.) The active IR image is more detailed and lifelike. Passive IR is fuzzier, because heat forms an aura around the emitting material substance (and not just for Stevie Nicks).

BMW says a simpler image may be easier to understand at a glance, and the novel system is better than earlier a whole s The BMW display can zoom in upon distant objects when you're traveling faster. Also, passive IR isn't "dazzled" through bright oncoming lights that emit a certain number of infrared. (Think what happens when sum of two units active IR cars bear down upon each other.) Siemens VDO provided the technology for the BMW a whole and Automotive Lighting does this for Mercedes-Benz.

Others have tried night vision with mixed succes GM unveiled a Raytheon/Delphi-designed passive, head-up-display Night Vision combination of parts to form a whole in Cadillacs in 2000 with unostentatious success (and later offered it in Hummers) The initial Cadillac a whole was on the frumpy DT which perhaps positioned Night Vision as a visual prosthesis for aging drivers instead of a somewhat cold toy for Corvette-driving investment bankers. Lexus exchanges the Night View system ($2200) upon its high-end LX SUV. And in Japan, the Honda myth has had night vision since 2004 on the other hand it's not available here upon the Acura RL (which is the same car).

Copyright ?© 2006 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserv Originally appearing in TechnoRide.