Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Justin Bell laps Willow Springs... in the dark... using only night vision]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/11/justin-bell-laps-willow-springs-in-the-dark-using-only-nig/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/11/justin-bell-laps-willow-springs-in-the-dark-using-only-nig/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/11/justin-bell-laps-willow-springs-in-the-dark-using-only-nig/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



Night vision has made its way into quite a few luxury cars as a night-driving safety feature, but eBay Motors wanted to see if the technology could be used to actually drive the car. Former racer and World's Faster Car Show host Justin Bell grabbed the keys to an Audi A7 and headed to Willow Springs Raceway to find out.

As if driving in the dark of the desert night wasn't hard enough, the car's windshield and side windows were blacked out, so Bell's driving relied completely on the three-inch night vision display located in the gauge cluster. In addition to navigating the track, his producers also threw in a few surprises for Bell on the track. We don't want to spoil too much for you, but based on the speeds exhibited in the video, we don't think 24-hour endurance races will be adding this tech any time soon; that being said, he probably drove the car faster and better than we could have.

Scroll down to watch how Bell does lapping the track using only the car's night vision.

Continue reading Justin Bell laps Willow Springs... in the dark... using only night vision

Justin Bell laps Willow Springs... in the dark... using only night vision originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a7audiebay motorsjustin bellnight visionnight vision drivingwillow springs racewayworlds fastest car showFri, 11 Jan 2013 12:44:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20424266/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2013/01/11/justin-bell-laps-willow-springs-in-the-dark-using-only-nig/20424266/article-detail.xml 20424266 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/night-vision-driving_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/night-vision-driving.jpg <![CDATA[Who makes the best night-vision system? <i>Car and Driver</i> weighs in]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/18/who-makes-the-best-night-vision-system-car-and-driver-we/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/18/who-makes-the-best-night-vision-system-car-and-driver-we/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/18/who-makes-the-best-night-vision-system-car-and-driver-we/#commentsFiled under: , ,

C&D test night vision systems

Car and Driver Tested continues with an episode comparing the night vision systems from the Big Three German luxury makers. While the testing involves a remote-controlled turkey and a deer crossbred with a construction cone, the most interesting thing the guys from C/D do is to cover the windshields of the cars to try and drive through an autocross course relying on technology alone. Hence the conversation through the sunroofs you see pictured above.

And the results? While we wouldn't call it an epic fail, it is an entertaining one. Night vision is one of the bells and whistles that's probably not destined to trickle down from the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz CL-Class anytime soon, but like most luxury features it's an impressive display of engineering.

Scroll down to watch the full episode.

Continue reading Who makes the best night-vision system? Car and Driver weighs in

Who makes the best night-vision system? Car and Driver weighs in originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>7 seriesa8audiautocrossbmwCar and Drivercl-classmercedesnight visionnight vision systemMon, 18 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20260610/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/06/18/who-makes-the-best-night-vision-system-car-and-driver-we/20260610/article-detail.xml 20260610 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/06/cd-opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/06/cd-opt.jpg <![CDATA[Dung beetles in cow pies helping Toyota create night vision systems? [w/video]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/19/dung-beetles-in-cow-pies-helping-toyota-to-create-night-vision-s/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/19/dung-beetles-in-cow-pies-helping-toyota-to-create-night-vision-s/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/19/dung-beetles-in-cow-pies-helping-toyota-to-create-night-vision-s/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Dung Beetles and your driving will soon have something in common - Click above to watch video

It's called "local adaptive spatiotemporal smoothing," and birds moths do it, bees do it, even educated fleas dung beetles do it. What it means is that when a dung beetle looks at something, it can selectively enhance multiple areas for details or for motion detection simultaneously. What that apparently means for you is, eventually, full-color night vision in your car.

According to New Scientist, Toyota has teamed up with researchers who have been studying insect optics in order to create better driving aids. Mercedes-Benz and BMW use infrared for their night-vision system, but this new system gathers information gathered in the visible spectrum and processes it differently.

It involves a three-part algorithmic, two of which video cameras use right now. When capturing a scene at night, the camera brightens the dark pixels while leaving bright pixels unaltered. The second step is to sharpens the edges within the picture, which it does by changing pixel values where it detects boundaries between light and dark areas. It increases details at the same time as it increases noise. The new and final step that is owed to dung beetles is when the camera compares values of nearby pixels to smooth out the image. The result is reduced noise and enhanced detail.

Now that the scientists have created a camera that can do all this processing on-the-go and at driving speed, Toyota will begin the work of integration. Follow the jump to check out a video on the research. Who would have thought a bug needed such awesome vision to find poop. Hat tip to Ric J!

[Source: New Scientist | Image: Paul Garland - C.C. License 2.0]

Continue reading Dung beetles in cow pies helping Toyota create night vision systems? [w/video]

Dung beetles in cow pies helping Toyota create night vision systems? [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>drivingdriving aidDrivingAidDung BeetleDungBeetleinfraredinsectsnaturenew scientistNewScientistnight visionNightVisionsafer drivingSaferDrivingsciencevisionvisual aidvisual aidsVisualAidVisualAidsTue, 19 Jan 2010 15:29:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19321413/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/01/19/dung-beetles-in-cow-pies-helping-toyota-to-create-night-vision-s/19321413/article-detail.xml 19321413 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/01/toyotadungbtl_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/01/toyotadungbtl.jpg <![CDATA[CES 2009 Preview: FLIR helps BMWs detect pedestrians]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/04/ces-2009-preview-flir-helps-bmws-detect-pedestrians/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/04/ces-2009-preview-flir-helps-bmws-detect-pedestrians/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/04/ces-2009-preview-flir-helps-bmws-detect-pedestrians/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



FLIR, the maker of BMW's night-vision system, will be at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week showing off its PathFindIR thermal imaging camera. The company says its system isn't confused by oncoming headlights, works well in cold weather and can even see through fog, dust and smoke.

FLIR also says its camera is based on the same technology used by the military to provide a 36° field-of-view of the road ahead.

We plan to check out the company's claims in the 6 Series they're bringing to CES. Maybe they'll even let us take it out and recreate that urban rumor of 200-mph desert highway sprints with no headlights. No, probably not.

CES 2009 Preview: FLIR helps BMWs detect pedestrians originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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]

Toyota Crown hybrid gets Night View, spots pedestrians originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 May 2008 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>night viewnight visionnight-viewnight-visionNightViewNightVisiontoyotatoyota night viewtoyota-night-viewToyotaNightViewFri, 30 May 2008 18:01:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1210903/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/05/30/toyota-crown-hybrid-gets-night-view-spots-pedestrians/1210903/article-detail.xml 1210903 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/night_vision_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/night_vision.jpg <![CDATA[Super seeing speculation! Porsche developing night vision system?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/05/super-seeing-speculation-porsche-developing-night-vision-system/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/05/super-seeing-speculation-porsche-developing-night-vision-system/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/05/super-seeing-speculation-porsche-developing-night-vision-system/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The Deutsch-obsessed purveyors of the German Car Scene got a tip that Porsche is in the process of developing a night vision system, ala the Merc S-class, that will likely debut when the 997 undergoes a facelift sometime in 2007.

The picture above is what fueled the speculation, with what's assumed to be a set of infrared projector beams mounted within the headlamp. Said beams would exchange information with a camera mounted on the windshield, then project the enhanced image onto a screen.

We're less than convinced that this is the case, not just because a digital dash would have to be adopted by the guys and gals of Stuttgart, but because it seems contrary to the Porsche edict of over-engineered, gimmickless motoring.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

[Source: German Car Scene]

Super seeing speculation! Porsche developing night vision system? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Dec 2006 07:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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