Our driving decisions are based on visibility. In 2013, when we started the HUDWAY project seeking for a solution to keep the driver informed of what’s ahead when they’re navigating in low visibility conditions and can’t see far enough in their headlights.
At that time, our HUDWAY app “forecasted” the upcoming twists and turns on the road, alerting the driver on whether there was a sharp turn or a straight run waiting beyond the headlights reach. This proved to be particularly important for those driving long distances between cities.
Ever since, we dreamt of making a more advanced solution which would, too, alert the drivers on what’s ahead — and give them more time to react, brake and avoid the possible accident.
6 years later our dream has become reality — not in least due to our partnership with Guide, one of the leaders in thermal camera manufacturing.
This joint product involves a lot of R&D for both companies, and we’re honored and proud to have Guide’s engineering team as a partner.
The night vision camera we’re adding to HUDWAY Drive today makes the whole product truly unique — and what we particularly like is that we manage to offer it at a fraction of price charged for the camera solutions having very similar characteristics.
It’s a thermal camera — and as such, it doesn’t need light to “see” the objects. Instead, it recognizes them by their heat — and highlights them against a neutral dark background. This is how you will see them appearing on the video — and know they’re out there, no matter how challenging the visibility conditions may be.
In dust, fog, heavy snow or rain, dusk or darkness — the thermal camera will automatically identify and highlight vehicles and pedestrians. It will also alert you on the objects moving close to your vehicle by overlaying them with geometric shapes and indicating the distance to them. At the moment, we keep working on adding animals recognition — and hope to have it finalised by the moment we ship the perks.
Here’s what you get with a Night Vision perk:
- Night vision camera
- ECU block
- Video selector
- Mounting bracket & screws
- A bunch of cables :)
We have confirmed the camera characteristics which we discussed with Guide previously, so please see them in the table below:
The camera works well even in the extreme temperatures. It also has a heater that activates when the temperature is 2°C or lower and defreezes the camera window.
Installing the camera in a vehicle
We brought a camera sample to our engineering office in Riga and shot a brief installation video on BMW 320 E46. Here it is:
Please note that this video is pretty basic and straightforward: there, we connect the camera straight to HUDWAY Drive — and the video signal is sent to HUD when the camera is powered. Please disregard the cable with multiple ends that is shown on the video — it’s a prototype one.
The mass-produced cameras will have an S-video cable that will plug in the ECU block. The ECU block is responsible for the automatic objects recognition and triggering visual alarms.
The ECU block is not waterproof and needs to be mounted in a dry place safe from mud — say, in the passenger compartment, under a seat or in the trunk, just like the video selector — and just like the video selector, it can be mounted using screws, 3M adhesive, or Dual Lock.
Another S-video cable will run from the ECU to the video selector — which further transmits the video to HUDWAY Drive (or to your in-vehicle display, if you choose not to use HUDWAY Drive).
The great thing about the ECU block is that its firmware can be updated over the air. We’re still deciding on how exactly it will be done — most probably, we will have a Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth chip integrated in it.
A few notes on camera mounting
First, in the video, our engineer cuts out a piece of the radiator grille — and you may question whether it’s really necessary. Well, it’s not. We’ve tested how the camera would perform if installed behind different radiator grills — and noticed only a subtle deterioration of the image — it gets a bit less distinct, a bit duller. It’s hardly noticeable if you don’t compare it first.
Another thing is that the grille ribs may get covered with mud which may further deteriorate the camera’s vision — which is no longer an issue when you cut out a piece of these ribs.
So basically, it’s up to you to decide whether to cut out the grille or not.
Second, later this spring we will be offering a magnet mounting so that you can affix the camera anywhere on the vehicle front and don’t need to drill the radiator support or cut out the grille. This mounting is now being tested by our engineers, and once we have finalised it, we will post the videos and most probably add them as perks or make available for purchase on our website.
Our general recommendation is that you should mount the night vision camera at 50 cm above the ground or higher. This way, it will not get blinded with mud so quickly.
We now keep working with the manufacturer’s engineers to balance the contrast of the video — so that the objects get visible better and the background is dimmed to deeper black.
Order your night vision camera here.
