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The kmen light up the ni
Page 18
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• by Robin Meczes An infrared night-vision system designed for trucks is claimed to help drivers see five times further in the dark.
XVision, from Knorr-Bremse Group company Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, comprises an infrared camera which captures thermal images of the road 500m ahead of the vehicle.
Images from the camera, which weighs less than a kilogram, are sent to an in-cab display which is the size of a rearview mirror and is mounted just above or below the driver's line of sight.
The 1:1 viewing ratio offers a realtime black-and-white image of the road in which warm objects, such as pedestrians or exhausts, appear in shades of white.
The system is not affected by headlight glare although the company's website advises that "snow, rain or fog can limit the product's ability to discern objects in the field of view".
Bendix says drivers using the system, which is available as a retrofit, will have 18-20 seconds to respond to hazards, compared with 3-5 seconds using standard headlights at 60mph.
"Research shows that most night-time accidents
simply occur because of the driver's inability to see clearly in the dark," says Bendix director Andreea Raaber. "XVision will help reduce the significant number of night-time driving accidents involving large trucks."