Filed under: Gadgets, Sedans/Saloons, Tech, BMW
Next BMW night vision system can detect humans in the dark
The next BMW 7-Series is going to be graced with some serious driving technology. While the image above doesn't appear to have anything like the picture quality of Mercedes' NightVision Assist, BMW's offering will have some other features that you probably won't find this side of a special ops base.
The second-gen night vision system will be able to detect humans in the road because it will use thermal imaging. It will alert the driver of human impediments up to 100 meters ahead, and it won't be confused by humans on the sidewalk. If a collision is imminent, a flashing warning triangle will appear on the screen and the heads-up display.
European versions of the car won't have to rely on navigation software to know the speed limit of a given road. A camera behind the rear-view mirror will read street sings in any country that is signed to the Vienna Convention -- which doesn't include the U.S. That function will work in any weather, even fog. It won't limit the speed of the car, but it will warn the driver if his or her speed is excessive. Word is they are considering naming the system "Hal." Thanks for the tip, Chris!
[Source: BMWblog]
The camera found in the Night-Vision-system will be improved as well, featuring a better resolution and improved object-recognition. The system will warn the driver if he is in danger of a collision with any detected object or human. To test this technique they test drove over 250.000 kilometers at night, so the error margins are pretty slim. That's pretty impressive I would say.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Torrent 11:36AM (6/06/2008)
Personally, I don't need it. The person should just stay the hell out of my way.
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Hancock 11:38AM (6/06/2008)
"no, officer, it wasn't my fault. my car told me it was ok to go 120 here. guess it didn't see the sign."
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steve clark 11:43AM (6/06/2008)
Didn't Cadillac offer this 5 years ago?
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Andrew 12:55PM (6/06/2008)
It's fair to say this is more advanced than what Cadillac offered/offers.
Chad 11:43AM (6/06/2008)
Now it will be even easier to run people over at night. :)
jk of course
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Torrent 11:58AM (6/06/2008)
"Yeah, Jill. I have night vision on my 535i"
"Can you give me a demonstration?"
"
Sure. See this guy on the screen?"
"Uh-huh...."
"That means he's on the street"
"Okay"
"And then....." (300 horsepower kicks in)"
THUMP!!!
"OH MY GOD CHARLIE, DID YOU JUST HIT HIM!?!??!!"
"No..... I hit the demonstration."
*I hope I'm kidding.*
Moral:There are innocent hit and runs, then there's people with BMW Night Vision.
Jason 11:44AM (6/06/2008)
Is hitting people at night really that big of a problem in Europe? How about alerting the driver to things that are far more apt to cross a road, at night, in non-lit areas, where vehicles are driving fast... like say, deer and other animals?
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david 11:46AM (6/06/2008)
I'd say it's more beneficial in, say, Montana where you have to worry about deer, elk, and other large furry critters. A good portion of the time people running or walking at night will be on lighted streets, and if they are not, the wouldn't be jogging down a dark road with a speed limit of 60 mph, though I'm sure it happens.
I'd love to see how it would work at picking up deer and other animals as they have a tendency to stay off in the field/brush where it's much harder to see them even with HID lights.
Of course, there's never going to be a substitute for driving slower and more cautiously at night time. What scares me are the people who are going to try driving with the lights off.
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Kotse 11:46AM (6/06/2008)
"Nacht Jager" (night vision) as the Germans would say and had developed started in 1936..and by 1945 had found it's way on top of Panther tanks....
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/articles/ir.htm
Them Germans are geniuses
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Kotse 11:51AM (6/06/2008)
..Now all the 7 Series needs is a...howitzer turret. ;)
LeRobert 1:25PM (6/06/2008)
With my limited knowledge of German, I believe 'Nachtsicht' is the proper term for night-vision. 'Nacht Jäger' literally means 'night fighter'.
Kotse 1:51PM (6/06/2008)
LeRobert, this is what is said on the Panther night vision link:
"In mid 1943, first tests with infrared night-vision (Nacht Jager) devices and telescopic rangefinders mounted on Panther started. Two different arrangements / solutions were created and used on Panther tanks."
dinnercoat 2:33PM (6/06/2008)
I thought jaeger was the German word for hunter?
Toy Yoda 11:49AM (6/06/2008)
Impressive. Let's just hope BMW makes the interface to this technology pleasant and not give us some annoying "briiing" sound which would just irritate the driver.
Oh yeah, let's hope they adapt this technology to spot cop cars in the rear view mirror that are measuring your speed by pacing you. Heck, even spot them in the front too. This would be a more worthy application of the technology.
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DCragtop 12:04PM (6/06/2008)
does it have to be accessed via the lovely iDrive system?
Will it be able to tell the diff between hookahs and nightcrawlers?
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Dan 12:06PM (6/06/2008)
...a flashing warning triangle???... thermal night vision?? Soooo... it'll be just like the Predator targeting system?
Sweet. We are slowing inching closer to life imitating video game.
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mk 12:07PM (6/06/2008)
They had me at FLIR + HUD.
But they lost me at speed sign reading... although it is good that it is euro-only, is GPS, sign-reading, and satellite traffic nav really that far away from being a speed-based tattle-tale?
I like the idea of my car helping me out, not so much second guessing me, and telling me what I know that I am already doing. The HUD no doubt already reports the speed on the windshield.
The only sliver-thin benefit to sign-reading tech would be that it might catch sneaky little sign placements that provide fodder for speed traps. A sign in an odd place, near brush cover, or something, and then a cop with a radar gun to catch those who don't catch sight of the new lower speed limit...
I've been caught there, where the speed on a 4-lane divided highway drops suddenly on an incline, and the sign is not prominently placed. Pulled over for 54mph in a 45. I hadn't realized that the speed limit had dropped below 55, and thought I was still good. Blatant revenue trap.
If a system makes that more obvious and avoidable... perhaps it isn't completely bad.
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Neil Schelly 12:21PM (6/06/2008)
I'd be fine with speed limits becoming harder limits. If cars start tattling on people for exceeding a 55MPH limit to 65-70MPH around here and they actually start getting tickets, then those people will slow down. Once everyone's going under the speed limits, it ought to be really easy to pass some laws to increase those limits.
Frankly, I find the low-by-design speed limits to be a tremendous breach of civilian rights since it pretty much makes everyone guilty regardless of how they're driving. If more tickets for harder limits can fix it, I'm all for it... though it will probably take some adjustment time.
I'd love to request records for all the cop cars that are never going under the speed limit after that becomes available though - that'd be even greater. I hate getting passed by cops going 80-85MPH without their lights/sirens on.
-N
mk 12:46PM (6/06/2008)
Neil,
I don't disagree with your premise, but I don't think that the government and law enforcement work on that premise.
Government AND Police departments benefit from writing more tickets. They aren't going to cut themselves off of that confiscatory funding, at a policy level.
And Government NEVER gets stricter only to get more lenient officially. They just get stricter, and then get stricter again, and ignore the reality of why things happen.
Why do people speed? some people do recklessly. Most people speed 5-10mph over the speed limit because the limits are artificially low, and abiding by the limits feels like chomping at the bit, and not getting where you need to be in a reasonable time.
Most cars are far safer and more competent at high speeds than ever before, and more fuel efficient, as well. The days of "55 saves lives, and gas" are long past.
With modern over-drive cars with good efficiency, they can cruise at 65-75, and cut more time off the trip than the extremely slight amount of extra fuel used, which especially multiplies on interstate travel, where the time margin gets significant.
Get 25 mpg for 6 hours, or 24.5mpg for 5 hours for the same mileage kind of thing...
Personally, I am not keen to give the government MORE power to be over-bearing, with the hopes that they'll give it back, when the people start behaving. Neither one of those results will ever happen.
dwightB 12:20PM (6/06/2008)
Is it me, or does that looks like a hooker in the image? ha
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