As Mobile Electronics celebrates 25 years of delivering content to its industry, the magazine has decided to look to the horizon rather than into the rearview mirror. We’ve brought you “The Road Ahead,” a series of articles that examine emerging in-vehicle technology. In our second installment, we look at a night-vision camera system from a defense supplier.

This month, we look at a new technology that’s available in the aftermarket and provides retailers with a product that clearly enhances safety for the consumer. While this is a big-ticket item, it provides tremendous value to consumers looking to avoid a costly accident that could be fatal. The road ahead seems much clearer when you can see through darkness, fog and smoke.

FLIR Systems has incorporated this technology into its PathFindIR camera, which was first unveiled in 2007 at the SEMA Show. The FLIR name is an acronym for “forward looking infrared radar,” the same technology has been used by the military on land, sea and air to look where eyes cannot see; and it’s been an integral part of defense and commercial applications since the 1960s.

The technology, called thermal or infrared imaging, picks up heat levels of objects on the roadway. Extending human vision with electronic imaging is one of the most powerful techniques available to science and industry, particularly when it enables us to see light in the infrared portion of the spectrum. Infrared means “below red,” as infrared light has less energy than red light. Light energy is typically described in terms of wavelength, and as the energy of light decreases, its wavelength gets longer. Infrared light, having less energy than visible light, has a correspondingly longer wavelength.

Infrared light is invisible to the unaided eye, but can be felt as heat on your skin. Warm objects emit infrared light. This IR glow enables you to see a deer or a person in a deep forest in total darkness. Infrared light can penetrate smoke and fog better than visible light, revealing objects that are normally obscured. Infrared camera technology has advanced with increased performance in smaller packages at lower cost, enabling the use of IR cameras in many new applications like a passenger automobile or RV.

This opens up a new opportunity for the aftermarket. By allowing drivers to see much farther, thermal imaging gives them more time to react to objects in front of the vehicle. They can see vehicles, pedestrians and animals before they even enter the road, monitoring their activity as they approach the road from either side.

The PathFindIR is a compact thermal imager that allows a driver to see five times farther than they could with their headlights. It also permits them to see in total darkness. Some automakers like Mercedes are using less expensive nearinfrared systems. These rely on an IR illuminator and an inexpensive CCD camera. They have a much shorter range and often reflect off objects such as road signs, regardless of their thermal signature. PathFindIR’s technology provides an immediate and relevant comparison with inferior technologies to ensure that the aftermarket offering is the best for your customer’s automobile.

The PathFindIR actually sees ahead of your automobile by identifying the thermal signature or temperature differences. Warmer objects appear brighter, while colder objects appear darker. BMW has adopted this same system and is currently in using it in the 760Li, the flagship of the BMW lineup. The system is also available as an option on the 5-, 6- and 7-Series automobiles.

Retailers marketing the product should ask customers if they’re interested in a cutting-edge technology that allows them to see five times farther than they could with their regular headlights. The FLIR PathFindIR night vision camera brings military technology to the automotive aftermarket arena for just that purpose.

When talking to customers, determine the type of installation they should consider based on whether they have an aftermarket multimedia head unit or are considering adding night vision to a factory installed display. To get the picture of the road ahead on the screen inside the car, the thermal-image camera creates real-time video by detecting subtle differences in temperature, which the driver can view from a factory in-dash or aftermarket display with an auxiliary video input.

To install this technology in a customer’s vehicle, mount the camera in the front grill and put a video screen somewhere on the dashboard. This provides a simple solution that can be readily installed in almost any vehicle. For an integrated installation, many new vehicles include in-dash monitors for navigation or back-up camera systems. Most existing monitors support the standard NTSC video output of the Path- FindIR. The location of the monitor is important for both an installed LCD and the position of the factory LCD as the thermal image becomes a natural checkpoint, but the LCD should not be used for primary navigation of the automobile.

FLIR Systems has partnered with NAV-TV to provide night-vision driving solutions designed for integration into factory displays. This provides the added value of seamless integration of the PathFindIR into OE installed monitors. These specialized devices provide video input on the factory installed LCD navigation system and add to the sale of a video input accessory. NAV-TV developed the first fully integrated thermal night vision system designed for Land Rover’s Range Rover Luxury SUV. The integrated on-screen controls allow for a 2X zoom, useful for higher driving speeds, and a color scheme change (from hot-white to hot-black or color) to compensate for different illumination contrasts. Since its introduction, the offering has grown to include several integrated accessories kits designed and packaged for specific vehicles such as Audi, Mercedes and Porsche, which allow control and display of the PathFindIR on these OE monitors.

This innovative new technology provides one more product to add to the retail offering to stay ahead of the automaker. With night vision, you truly have a product that provides an additional layer of safety for the driving experience.