Friday video action: Merc’s Night View Assist
Newswheel staff :: 03 February 2006 :: Filed under Saloon, Mercedes Benz, Mercedes Benz S-Class, Europe & UK, Safety, US
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For all your night vision needs
Infrared night vision in your car. Gimmick or essential safety accoutrement? The jury is out. But it certainly seems like a classic nuclear deterrent type of tech: if your enemy has it, then you must have it, too. Last week we reported that BMW will begin fitting its Night Vision system to production cars from March. And sure enough, Mercedes-Benz has its own nocturnal vision rig ready to go for the new S-Class, as demoed in a new video.
Although idea behind both BMW’s and M-B’s systems is the same – improving night time vision without frying the retinas of oncoming drivers – they’re not quite identical under the hood. If we have our thermal imaging cameras sorted from our heads up displays, the main difference is that Mercedes has fitted a pair of infrared lamps up front to illuminate the road ahead while BMW’s rig depends on a passive-only infrared imaging camera. Both systems output to largish in-dash displays, with BMW opting to commandeer the central navigation screen while M-B takes advantage of the S-Class’s virtual instrument cluster behind the steering wheel to allow arguably more ergonomic viewing. And of course, the M-B approach means you can have your Night View cake and eat your sat nav display, at the same time.
A Mercedes-produced video showcasing Night View Assist over at Autospies (which is well worth a watch, despite the low res and bitrate) does give a better idea of how its system will be used in the real world. But we’re still not convinced by M-B’s suggestion that the driver will make “frequent glances” at the Night View display and therefore be forewarned of obstacles ahead. A system that worked purely via peripheral vision, or was integrated into the driver’s primary view ahead, would make more sense to us.
Mercedes' Night View Assist above, Night Vision from BMW below. Which is better? It’s your call…
Linkage:
M-B Night View Assist video
BMW Night Vision (internal)
Posted 04 March 2007, by asco-o@o-o.lt
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