Night Vision Enhancement System Using Diode Laser Headlights

A demonstrator for a vision enhancement system to be used at night has been developed and tested. The intention of the system is not to drive a vehicle using a small video image but to inform the driver early and far reaching about the course of the road and about obstacles, pedestrians and bikers.

For the first time laser diodes emitting in the near infrared are applied as light sources in additional headlights. As a camera a low noise CCD video camera is used. The information in the video image is better than the information, which the driver can see with his eyes.

To present the video image to the driver, a LCD display with an optic to generate a virtual image in a distance of some meters is used. The demonstrator was tested by 20 truck drivers resulting in a good acceptance of the system. Prototype development to implement an improved system into a bus is under way.