U.S. Department of Transportation study (2003) :



More than 20 percent of fatal accidents occurred between midnight and 6:00 a.m., which accounts for only 2.4 percent of traffic volume during a 24-hour period.

About half of all fatal pedestrian accidents also occur at night when fewer people are out and about.



So keeping in mind the above factors Mercedes-Benz and the BMW are out with a novel dashboard monitors which reveals what human eye cannot see in the dark all with the intention of making night driving safer.



Mercedes uses near-infrared sensors in its S-Class, while BMW’s 7 Series uses a far-infrared technology where with the help of dashboard monitors all is revealed what human eye cannot see in the dark



BMW’s system scans up to 984 feet at a 12- to 18-degree angle. It uses a CMOS-based sensor to process the images using algorithms detecting the heat emitted by objects .The warmer the object, the brighter the image.



Mercedes’ S-Class night-vision drive system, on the other hand, is less useful for long-range navigation but offers a better resolution compared to BMW’s system. But its maximum projection distance is only 492 feet. Though Mercedes images are clearer, yet its emphasis on objects are lesser.



With prices well over $100,000 the success of this idea is a bit shaky.



Via