VIDEO: Night Vision for Self-Driving Cars
Night Vision for Self-Driving Cars
By Mark Harris
Posted 18 Oct 2017 |
source imveurope.com
edited by kcontents
Elon Musk famously thinks that cars can be made to drive themselves without relying on expensive laser-ranging lidars. But while Tesla is moving ahead with one fewer sensor than most self-driving car companies, a new startup wants them to add yet another—an infrared camera.
AdaSky is developing a far infrared thermal camera called Viper that it says can expand the conditions that automated cars will be able to operate in, and improve safety.
“Today’s sensors are not good enough for fully self-driving cars and that’s where we come in,” says Dror Meiri, vice president of business development at AdaSky. “We think infrared (IR) technology can bridge the gap from Level 3 all the way to Levels 4 and 5.”
Level 3 vehicles need a human driver ready to take control at a moment’s notice. Passengers in Level 4 and 5 self-driving cars can read a book or go to sleep. For that to happen, a car’s sensors must be able to provide a detailed and dependable 3D image of the car’s surroundings and other road users.
However, existing sensors all have their weak points. High-resolution lidars struggle in rain, fog, and snow. Radars can punch through bad weather but deliver less detailed information, while cameras suffer the same limitations as human eyes when faced with bright sunlight, glare, or nighttime conditions.
Passive infrared vision can help fill in these gaps. It spots differences in the heat emitted by objects in the road ahead. Warm-blooded humans and animals are naturally prominent, while road surfaces stand out from nearby vegetation. Oncoming headlights, direct sunlight, and abrupt lighting changes (which drivers experience when exiting a tunnel) do not wash out the entire scene, as they can for normal cameras.
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