Drivers Seeing Light Via Night ‘Driver Vision’

PARIS--Visteon Corp. says it will change the way people drive in the dark with its new night vision technology, called Driver Vision at Night.

The technology substantially improves driver’s orientation in dark driving conditions. As a result, reaction time is improved because obstacles and pedestrians in the road are easier to see, according to the company.

Other products on the market employ only thermal sensors--while Visteon’s Driver Vision at Night uses light amplification and near-infrared techniques, according to the company. “This approach has the advantage of preventing variations in the display’s brightness and contrast levels. The system also helps in reducing the feared ‘blinding effect’ drivers sometimes experience from the headlights of oncoming traffic. Thus, the driver receives an enhanced and clear view of the road ahead.”

In developing this system, Visteon engineers installed a mini-camera inside the vehicle and positioned it to be aligned with the driver’s eyes. Here’s what they found: The system’s electronics can pick up a range of up to 300 meters and extend much further into the dark than the range illuminated by a vehicle’s traditional headlights. The camera detects extremely long-wave radiation invisible to the human eye, and employs it in reproducing an image of the road.

An electronics module designed by Visteon translates the information captured by the camera into easy-to-understand images. An Optics box mounted in the vehicle’s roof projects the final image on to a “head-up” display. The display is located directly within the driver’s primary field of view, allowing him or her to keep their eyes on the road. The image on the transparent windshield display offers important additional visuals of the road beyond the reach of the headlamps, according to the company.