Infrared Night Vision on BMW 5 and 6 series

[mikeyb]

BMW has announced that its Night Vision infrared system that allows drivers to see further than normal (or xenon) headlights is now available for the 5 and 6 Series, having previously been exclusive to the 7 series.
Having appeared late last year the straight-from-a-Bond-film system uses a Far Infrared (FIR) thermal imaging camera to identify heat-emitting objects, such as people, animals or road-side barbeques, up to 300m away. The 'lit'
images are then projected onto the BMW iDrive screen - a large display panel on the dashboard, under the screen.
BMW claims its technology is superior to rival image-enhancement systems as only the hottest objects stand out, making it far clearer to see living things, and also claim it is unaffected by oncoming headlights as other systems are.

source:http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/65894/infrared_night_vision_on_bmw_5_and_6_series.html

 

[SciFiMan]

Nice feature, to bad we can't get that on cars for normal drivers. People driving 5 and 6's are to self-important to be bothered with watching out for others so I don't think it will help from a safety standpoint.

 

[patmaz]

nothing new man,the big deville from cadillac have that option since 2000....many people (me too)forget to think about american car,but you d be surprise about the technologie of some models,cadillac is an impressive make,(did you know that the 32 valves northstar v8 engine is made with mercedez enginering,i dont think so,most dont know)i use to work at a g.m. dealers for 5 years as a mechanic,when you say cady,your not talking about a cavalier,or a grand am...your talking about many technologies,and amasing reliability...

but bmw and mercedez,well,theyre the summum...... (thumb)

 

[Mallard]

nothing new man,the big deville from cadillac have that option since 2000....many people (me too)forget to think about american car,but you d be surprise about the technologie of some models,cadillac is an impressive make,(did you know that the 32 valves northstar v8 engine is made with mercedez enginering,i dont think so,most dont know)i use to work at a g.m. dealers for 5 years as a mechanic,when you say cady,your not talking about a cavalier,or a grand am...your talking about many technologies,and amasing reliability...

but bmw and mercedez,well,theyre the summum...... (thumb)

The difference is, i believe, Caddy used a heat vision based technology whereas the new Merc and BMW systems actually have infrared headlights that 'illuminate' everything in front of them. It gives a much clearer picture of whats there. Caddy had night vision years ago and this is how the technology has evolved.