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October 22, 2008
Night Vision
GTI Guy
So just when you thought that James Bond gadgets were only in the movies, Mercedes has to go out and put night vision on their CL-Class Coupe. Check out how sweet it looks in this video. The Mercedes promo video has some more info on the system. I know it won’t look as sick as this, but I might be budgeting an afternoon and investing in a wireless night vision camera for a sweet weekend project. What do you guys think? Should this be a standard feature or is it a useless expense?
Comments
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artie99
Oct 23, 2008 at 12:59 am
Why did Cadillac stop putting this in their cars. I forget, was it the Seville?
Your answer could lie with them.
Nes
Oct 22, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Well I would use it only if my headlights didn’t work! And it’s pretty useless!!!!!!! hahahahaha did anyone hear that R. Kelly song with the monkey noises hahahahahahaha oh god so since he got caught with little girls now he’s going with the animal zoo?
Anonymous
Oct 22, 2008 at 8:27 pm
you can’t even see your speed while driving with this “feature” on…
é
Oct 22, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Weston screws around with his nav so much when he drives.
This is the natural next step.
Keith
Oct 22, 2008 at 4:45 pm
useless feature, unless you’re stalking someone
busby seo test
Oct 22, 2008 at 3:53 pm
There are problems with this type of device.
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1. the screen only displays a relatively narrow portion of area in front of the car, excluding most of the peripheral view. If you use the screen to drive the car, you are driving with blinders on, but it’s actually worse than blinders because if you wore blinders you can change the view as you turn your head. This only looks forward.
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2. it’s a distraction. Yes, it displays what’s ahead but when you use it, someone can be changing lanes or failing to stop at an intersection. Also since the wheel is in front of it, the display is occasionally obscured.
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I’m not saying night vision isn’t do-able, or wouldn’t be a great thing in cars, not at all but how it’s done makes all the difference. I’d say the bare minimum useable display would utilize the entire windshield, projecting from a front-mounted camera and synching the image with what is seen from the drivers POV. That would be the best application possible and anything less is a toy, and potentially a dangerous one at that.
cknarf
Oct 22, 2008 at 3:06 pm
cool but not really needed.
I mean, you still got headlights, right?
R.Cardona
Oct 22, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Mercedes needs to work on reliability more than in new gadgets. This is too complicated and expensive for normal drivers. Using caution and slowing down at night is the best defense. You still have to stop after identifying a hazard. Would this be better than paying attention and having the headlight adjusted and working correctly?
Evan
Oct 22, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I was thinking the same thing. Also it takes the eyes off the road. If they were going to put Night Vision on a car why didn’t they have the display up on the window down near the bottom.
It looks very useful but needs to be farther and wider to be of any serious value.
Still it would be fun to drive without headlights on. JUST KIDDING!!!!
GTwildfire
Oct 22, 2008 at 1:47 pm
There are problems with this type of device.
-
1. the screen only displays a relatively narrow portion of area in front of the car, excluding most of the peripheral view. If you use the screen to drive the car, you are driving with blinders on, but it’s actually worse than blinders because if you wore blinders you can change the view as you turn your head. This only looks forward.
-
2. it’s a distraction. Yes, it displays what’s ahead but when you use it, someone can be changing lanes or failing to stop at an intersection. Also since the wheel is in front of it, the display is occasionally obscured.
-
I’m not saying night vision isn’t do-able, or wouldn’t be a great thing in cars, not at all but how it’s done makes all the difference. I’d say the bare minimum useable display would utilize the entire windshield, projecting from a front-mounted camera and synching the image with what is seen from the drivers POV. That would be the best application possible and anything less is a toy, and potentially a dangerous one at that.