Delphi's Multi-Purpose Car Camera

Safety features enabled by the camera include:

Lane Departure Warning, Rain Sensing, Intelligent Headlight Control, Active Night Vision, Pedestrian Recognition, and Road Sign Recognition.

• The Lane Departure Warning system tracks painted lane boundaries and helps to alert the driver should the vehicle start to drift out of a lane.
• The Rain Sensing activates wipers when moisture is detected on the windshield.
• The Intelligent Headlight Control uses the camera to automatically activate the high beams according to lighting and traffic conditions and automatically dims headlights for on-coming traffic and when approaching vehicles from the rear.
• Active Night Vision uses near infrared headlamps to illuminate the road ahead and the image the camera catches is displayed in the vehicle. Moreover, the system offers high beam visibility without blinding on-coming traffic.
• The camera enables pedestrian recognition which detects and classifies pedestrians. It predicts possible pedestrian impact and activates countermeasures to lessen injuries.
• Road Sign Recognition can be achieved with use of this camera and it can read road and traffic signs and then alert the driver to various conditions ahead including speed limit, school zones, construction zones or curves.

Another device Delphi exhibited includes the Forewarn Smart Cruise Control, Pre-Crash Sensing and Resettable Pretensioning Seat Belt Retractor, and the Delphi Forewarn¨ Infrared Side Alert System.

• The Forewarned Smart Cruise Control is a radar-based adaptive cruise control system  that Delphi first introduced in 1999. The company continues to add new features and functions including full speed range functionality, stop and go, panic brake assist, automated braking and seat belt pretensioning.
• The Resettable Pretensioning Seat Belt Retractor removes slack from the seat belt to improve the occupant's position in case of a crash.
• The Pre-Crash Sensing system determines the trajectory of the oncoming target, its time of impact, impact velocity and point of impact. The system uses the information to begin appropriate safety countermeasures to help protect the car's occupants including pretension of the seat belts and activation of the brakes.
• The Delphi Forwarn Infrared Side Alert System alerts drivers to vehicles in the blind side of the vehicle when the driver changes lanes. When a vehicle is detected moving into the side blind spot, a visual alert an illuminated icon serving as a visual alert appears in the side view mirror.

The camera is equipped with a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor which provides multiple safety enhancements at a lower cost than independent systems. Our take? This is the gadget--not GPS, not ipod inputs--that should be standard in cars. SUVs, especially, will benefit from them so there's less chance their cellphone-speaking drivers will hit a full-sized sedan trying to pass them.

Via Auto News