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Scenarios of Infrared Technology in Intelligent Vehicle Field

2023-04-25 10:14:32Source:CIOE

CIOE Infrared Application Expo is the influential professional exhibition for infrared technology in the Asia-Pacific region, driving the industry growth from military field to both industrial and civilian fields. The exhibits range from infrared material and components, infrared equipment and imaging, testing and manufacturing equipment, millimeter-wave technology and application, terahertz monitoring and imaging, UV technology and application.


As a high-tech technology with a wide range of applications, IR imaging has found in-depth applications in medical, automotive, energy and security, etc. This article will give you a deeper understanding of the applications of infrared in intelligent vehicle’s files, from external sensing to internal monitoring.


< External Sensing (Increase safety and anticipate hazards in advance)>


Vehicle traffic accidents are frequent as the increases of cars’ speed, especially driving during night, rain, snow, fog, and other low visibility weather. These are also major causes of frequent traffic accidents. Statistics show that night driving accounts for only a quarter of overall road traffic, 55% of road accidents always happen at night.


According to published public information, China has 502 million motorists in 2022. There were 61,703 traffic fatalities and 250,723 traffic injuries in China, almost one death every 7 minutes and one injury every 1.5 minutes. With the development of smart cars, the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) market is growing rapidly. ADAS uses a variety of sensors installed in the car to collect data and combine it with map data for system calculations to prejudge dangers to the driver and ensure safe driving.  An onboard camera is one of the essential sensors for ADAS. Common in-vehicle ADAS sensors include optical camera, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), millimeter wave, thermal infrared camera, ultrasonic, etc. Infrared technology has unique advantages in certain scenarios:


  • Night: Infrared thermal imaging does not depend on visible light, so detection is not affected at night.

  • Rain, snow, fog, and dusty weather: Each object has different temperatures, therefore infrared technology is not affected by special weather.

  • Detection of long-distance: According to the Xy-idrive official website refers that the detection distance of infrared detector can reach 400 meters, which is 1.5 times the distance of car high beam irradiation, and is not affected by smoke, sunlight, and dazzling light.

  • Detection of blind zone/concealed object: Since the temperature of different objects is different, infrared thermal imaging camera can identify living objects and reduce the influence of sheltered on pedestrian or concealed object identification, to prevent accidents.



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Infrared thermal imaging camera identifies obscured pedestrians


In consideration of robustness, in-vehicle ADAS often does not use a single sensor. The addition of infrared thermal imaging camera can add redundancy and reliability to the sensor module, escorting the car to drive safely in complex environments.



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         Infrared detectors in vehicles enhance performance and reliability for ADAS sensor modules



< Internal monitoring (Monitor in-vehicle person to ensure environmental comfort and personnel safety)>


In addition to monitoring the external environment, infrared can also be used for in-cabin sensing systems.


Driver monitoring


The purpose of driver monitoring system (DMS) is to detect driver distraction, fatigue or drowsiness, or even unexpected situations that the driver is unable to drive, such as cheating the driver assistance system by using mineral water instead of hands on the wheel or arguing and fighting with passengers. 


Non-intrusive methods are preferred for monitoring, and vision-based systems are more appealing. Major visual cues include facial, hand, or body features.A driver facial monitoring system is a real-time system based on the processing of driver facial images to study the physical and mental states of the driver. The drivers’ states can be detected by eyelid closing, blinking, gaze direction, yawning and head movement.


Infrared spectral imaging is one of the important methods for eye detection and is not easily disturbed by occlusion or light variations. Moreover, since fatigue, sudden illness and emotional agitation may cause an increase in body temperature. Infrared spectral imaging + ordinary vision detection ways is the best choice for DMS systems from a robustness point of view.



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Weisheng DMS


Passenger condition monitoring


Ordinary camouflage is mainly aimed at preventing visible light observation, so the addition of infrared thermal imaging in security equipment is beneficial identifying and finding partially concealed objects, thus preventing, and reducing crime.


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Number of children heatstroke in vehicles in the U.S. 1998-2020             

Source: No Heatstroke, Haitong Securities  




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Causes of children's heatstroke in vehicles in the U.S. 1998-2020

Source: No Heatstroke, Haitong Securities

 



In-vehicle temperature monitoring


Next to the previous point of monitoring passenger conditions, infrared technology can also be applied for in-vehicle temperature monitoring, in conjunction with an intelligent cockpit to deliver timely in-vehicle safety warnings to drivers. If the driver is unable to get to the car in time to rescue forgotten pets and children, the car's air-conditioning system can be turned on by remote control to prevent passenger safety accidents caused by the heat inside the car. More importantly, before using the car, the driver can turn on the AC in advance to reduce the discomfort caused by the high/low temperature and dense air inside the car, thus increasing the efficiency of using the car.


Prevent suspicious intrusion


Infrared technology can identify suspicious people at the side of a car and sound an alarm if they appear to be trespassing to prevent intrusions, paired with car recorders and Automotive monitoring systems make criminals visible.


CIOE Infrared Application Expo is a professional exhibition of infrared technologies with a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region. The exhibition comprehensively showcases new products, technologies and trends in materials, devices, equipment and applications in the infrared, ultraviolet and terahertz fields, elevating the industry from military field to both industrial and civilian fields, and building a professional communications platform that integrates brand presentation, business negotiation, efficient maintenance, and customer relationship development.