BMW Night Vision Becomes Available in the U.S.

Munich January 26, 2006; BMW Night Vision, the innovative driverassistance system introduced last July will become available in 5 and 6 Series vehicles beginning March 2006.

With the new driver assistance systems, BMW Night Vision and High-Beam Assist, BMW drivers will be able to drive with improved vision in twilight and at night. Critical situations can potentially be identified earlier than previously possible and one’s driving style adapted accordingly. In addition to helping provide increased driving safety, the task of driving is eased when potentially critical situations are detected early on and redundant operations avoided. The driver thus experiences a significant gain in comfort.

BMW Night Vision features innovative infrared technology for greater security in the dark. A thermal imaging camera covers an area up to 300 meters in front of the vehicle. The image created on the central monitor displays objects more brilliantly, the greater the warmth registered by the camera. People (pedestrians at the edge of the road) and animals (wild animals crossing the road) would thus be the brightest areas of the image. BMW Night Vision offers customers particular benefits on routes through the country, along narrow roads, entrance drives and in dark underground garages, tangibly increasing safety when driving at night.

Based on comparative studies, BMW engineers have opted for the innovative Far Infrared (FIR) technology, since it best meets the goal of detecting people, animals and objects at night. Scientific studies also demonstrate that FIR is a more suitable technology than Near Infrared (NIR) for performing this function. In addition to the fundamental advantages of FIR, BMW has extended the technology by adding other functional features. For example, the image section follows the course of the road (panning); objects in the distance can be enlarged (zoom). BMW Night Vision is activated/deactivated simply by means of a switch next to the light switch.

Marc J. Rauch – TACH Auto Central

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