Toyota Crown hybrid gets Night View, spots pedestrians
Click above for more shots of Toyota's Night View
We've questioned why some automakers in the past have gone to the trouble of replicating the look of traditional gauges when normal ones would do the trick. In the case of the new Toyota Crown Hybrid, though, there is a good reason for the 1280 x 480 pixel LCD panel mounted directly above the steering wheel in the dash, and Toyota calls it "Night View." Though other companies have used some sort of night vision technology before, and many have begun offering headlights that turn with the steering wheel to improve the safety of driving at night, Toyota has gone a step further by adding human recognition to its system. The technology currently only works when the vehicle is being driven between 15-60km/h, or about 10-40 miles per hour. Certain conditions, like rain, can also sometimes force the system to shut down. A high cost is also being cited as a potential obstacle to bring the technology to market. Toyota, however, is forging ahead and currently working on lowering the cost of Night View and programming it to recognize bicycles and animals.
Gallery: Toyota Night View
[Source: Nikkei]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dan 6:09PM (5/30/2008)
Finally some good safety tech that can actually make a difference!
Next Step: Make it work in different conditions, and then have it project onto the HUD so you don't take your eyes off the road.
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MadeinDetroit 7:25PM (5/30/2008)
Actually this was a Cadillac innovation several years ago.
http://www.autoworld.com/news/Cadillac/Night_Vision.htm
ugg.tryptophan 6:09PM (5/30/2008)
now the yakuza can spot you at night!
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psarhjinian 9:17PM (5/30/2008)
Nah, the Yak are rollin' in S63 AMGs (if they're young) or Toyota Centuries (if they're not).
IK47 10:06PM (5/30/2008)
toyota century is one hell of a car
emperor style!!
PJ 6:39PM (5/30/2008)
The human recognition program is neat, but it seems like it'd need to be integrated into a windshield HUD to be truly useful.
IMO, the need to take one's eyes off the road to focus on the gauge pod mostly negates the realistic safety benefit of this and other night vision systems.
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Yar 6:12PM (5/30/2008)
So does it have an IFF system?
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Galley 6:13PM (5/30/2008)
Headlights that turn with the steering wheel. Another Tucker innovation (way back in '47).
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caddy dave 9:17PM (5/30/2008)
Wrong! Deusenburg 1927, made in America
aaron 6:14PM (5/30/2008)
"I'm too close for missiles, switching to guns!"
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Juan 6:20PM (5/30/2008)
I must say that I'm impressed...
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Khanh 6:53PM (5/30/2008)
I don't think the flash from the camera should have been on in picture 4 of 5, because then you wouldn't be able to see how clear the screen is at night compared to what you would actually see if you were looking out the windshield. Not to be offensive, but it'd be kind of funny if an obese person was recognized by the system and was mistaken for a bear or something.
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Omer 7:44PM (5/30/2008)
i guess we'll see this kind of technology in ours cars in about 5 yrs from now.
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Derek 8:34PM (5/30/2008)
It's already eight year old tech...
dpb! 7:36PM (5/30/2008)
I think it would be cool to offer a LCD dash and let the driver customize the look. Want analog or digital read outs? In green or blue or red? Do you even want a temp gauge?
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Derek 8:04PM (5/30/2008)
Nice to see other manufacturers adopting another of the technologies that Cadillac pioneered.
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caddy dave 10:04PM (5/30/2008)
Toyota only copies or or steals technology, never inventing.
Before you bloggers attack, name one thing toyota invented.
Dan 10:15PM (5/30/2008)
That may be true, but if Cadillac can't come up with an engine that doesn't leak like a seive *cough* Northstar *cough*, I don't think they should be worrying about perfecting safety features.
PJ 3:46PM (5/31/2008)
Cadillac's system had no program to recognize and highlight human shapes. That is the innovation in this system, not the IR readout.
tariq 12:05PM (6/01/2008)
"Cadillac's system had no program to recognize and highlight human shapes"
it did. i cant remember where or when i read it, but i remember 100% that a production car has done this before. i do not remember exactly which car it was, most likely caddy or acura but such a system is nothing new