Automotive Night Vision

malazn mafia · 07-10-2010, 12:08 AM

Hi guys, anybody know if this would work and why/why not?

If I replaced the foglights on the BA with massive powered IR lamps, and had a simple IR camera fitted in the grille, would I effectively have night vision?

**Bundy** · 07-10-2010, 07:43 AM

no because night vision needs NO light to work, any on coming headlights would rendy you a white saturated screen and your own headlighs would also interfer.

block58 · 07-10-2010, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bundy

no because night vision needs NO light to work, any on coming headlights would rendy you a white saturated screen and your own headlighs would also interfer.

Unless it automatically changed the exposure levels. Of course the idea could be used for stealthy driving where there would be no lights around and you would rely solely on the IR camera to see.

aussie muscle · 07-10-2010, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bundy

no because night vision needs NO light to work, any on coming headlights would rendy you a white saturated screen and your own headlighs would also interfer.

You are thinking of Light Intensified Vision. when there is little light it's amplified to usable levels. turns starlight into a daylight vista, but any light will white it out.

IR uses infrared light source, so unless the oncoming car has IR headlights it would appear normal. Should work, you gonna try it, Mal?

malazn mafia · 07-10-2010, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

You are thinking of Light Intensified Vision. when there is little light it's amplified to usable levels. turns starlight into a daylight vista, but any light will white it out.

IR uses infrared light source, so unless the oncoming car has IR headlights it would appear normal. Should work, you gonna try it, Mal?

Thanks for the advice. Its either do something along these lines (not sure how much visual range and peripheral range I would get) or go for a military style FLIR setup which would cost a whole lot more.

blueline · 07-10-2010, 10:54 AM

bendix already has a night vision set up like this on the market...

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=79853

i reckon their system of having the display come up in the dash might be a bit weird though, to drive but not watch the road directly.

flappist · 07-10-2010, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Hi guys, anybody know if this would work and why/why not?

If I replaced the foglights on the BA with massive powered IR lamps, and had a simple IR camera fitted in the grille, would I effectively have night vision?

OR

You could put massive powered spotlights and use the visible light detectors on either side of your nose.

I had 2 18" (45cm) 150w lights mounted on the bullbar of my XC in the the 70's (it was yellow and called the "bug eyed pineapple").

Even though it was ugly it lit the road up for yonks and as I drove mostly at night (1am-9am) it helped a lot.

Unfortunately totally illegal now.......

malazn mafia · 07-10-2010, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

OR

You could put massive powered spotlights and use the visible light detectors on either side of your nose.

I had 2 18" (45cm) 150w lights mounted on the bullbar of my XC in the the 70's (it was yellow and called the "bug eyed pineapple").

Even though it was ugly it lit the road up for yonks and as I drove mostly at night (1am-9am) it helped a lot.

Unfortunately totally illegal now.......

Haha, I'd hate to have been driving in the opposite direction to you at the time

. No laws against infrared that i'm aware of though.

davessleepin351 · 07-10-2010, 01:02 PM

the new mercedes benz has a night vision system built in, turns the dash into a screen. works fairly well from the videos i've seen.

Lexus were going to do something similar but opted for that smart radar system that doesnt allow you to run into anything, making it crash proof. (yeah right)

**GasoLane** · 07-10-2010, 01:59 PM

This is what I like about 'The Pub'

It's always good for a laugh.

satria · 07-10-2010, 02:05 PM

i saw on top gear once they reviewed the new S-class merc that had night vision. It turned the speedo/tacho area of the dash into a screen which displayed the night vision along with the speed etc in digital form. Clarkson said it was surprisingly not distracting at all. Might be on youtube somewhere...

Matty4 · 07-10-2010, 04:06 PM

I once sat in the car of a mate who was trialling a thermal imaging camera for vehicles. The camera wasn't mounted so I could point it around at different things. It was dark when I was at his place and the image was clear enough that I could see people down the end of his street by their thermal signature that my eyes could not see because of the lack of available light.

He was planning to try and sell them to truckies so that they could see animals on the roads long before their big lights could pick them up, thereby taking action to avoid them long before they became a problem. I'd imagine a large bull would cause a fair bit of damage to a bullbar on a truck, one avoidable impact could pay for the camera itself!!!

malazn mafia · 07-10-2010, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matty4

I once sat in the car of a mate who was trialling a thermal imaging camera for vehicles. The camera wasn't mounted so I could point it around at different things. It was dark when I was at his place and the image was clear enough that I could see people down the end of his street by their thermal signature that my eyes could not see because of the lack of available light.

He was planning to try and sell them to truckies so that they could see animals on the roads long before their big lights could pick them up, thereby taking action to avoid them long before they became a problem. I'd imagine a large bull would cause a fair bit of damage to a bullbar on a truck, one avoidable impact could pay for the camera itself!!!

Damn. Was the unit like a telescope, or did it have a seperate screen and camera unit? Did the unit have decent peripheral vision, or was it more of a scope? Is your mate still selling these things?

Matty4 · 08-10-2010, 01:53 PM

The camera was the size of a video camera and the image was displayed on a 7" screen mounted in the dash of his VT wagon. He imported it from the States as a working sample and IIRC they cost around $8K. The next size unit that he also tried to import cost close to $20K and the US military had an embargo on its export out of the US.

I don't think he took it any further but I'm sure he still has the camera somewhere