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Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, have created an electronic system that significantly improves driving ability at night by using information picked up by infrared cameras.
About 42 per cent of fatal car accidents happen in the dark, according to the European Commission, a figure that is made more stark by the fact that there is about 60 per cent less traffic at night. This higher accident rate is largely attributed to the fact that drivers cannot see so far.
The researchers at the Department of Computer Architecture and Technology, working in a European project, DRIVSCO, developed a microchip that extracts information from infrared cameras on the car.
“Dipped headlights only illuminate about 56 metres when the breaking distance at 100 km/h is about 80 metres,” says researcher Professor Ros Vidal.
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