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AnonTechie [soylentnews.org] writes:

An intelligent vehicle that can detect pedestrians at night-time

Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have designed a new pedestrian detection system for cars which works in low visibility conditions; the system is made up of infrared cameras which capture body heat.
The new driving-aid system uses images captured by far infrared with two thermal cameras to identify the presence of individuals in their field of vision. The objective is to alert the driver to the presence of pedestrians in the path of the vehicle, and even, in the case of cars with automated systems, actually stop the vehicle. "With the model being used in our research, pedestrians up to 40 meters away can be detected, although this distance could be extended if we substitute the lens with one that has greater focus range," explained one of its designers, Daniel Olmeda, from the Intelligent Systems Laboratory (LSI) at UC3M.
The use of this type of sensors provides the driver with information that goes beyond what he himself might perceive, something particularly useful in low visibility conditions such as nighttime driving. "In this situation, the sensitive cameras in the visible spectrum, which are already incorporated into some vehicles, can only be utilized in regions illuminated by the car's headlights. But our system does not require any type of external lighting," the engineer asserted. The infrared range in which it operates corresponds to the emission of heat which allows it to obtain images in conditions of total darkness.

http://portal.uc3m.es/portal/page/portal/news_repo sitory/general_news/An%20intelligent%20vehicle%20t hat%20can%20detect%20pedestrians%20at%20nightt?_te mplate=/SHARED/pl_noticias_detalle_pub_ingles [uc3m.es]

http://iospress.metapress.com/content/0135050g1m46 hu52/?issue=4&genre=article&spage=347&issn=1069-25 09&volume=20 [metapress.com]

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