Stereo Cameras are the next big thing in Safety

Most of the high end luxury cars have started to pay attention to issues like detection of blind spots and technology concerning avoidance of collision. Three companies who have taken up this challenge are Autoliv Electronics, Continental and Subaru. Autoliv Electronics are doing well with the sales of radar units that help with blind spots and their sales have gone up about ten times in the last four years. They have produced over one million units last year all over the world. Autoliv Electronics is a Swedish company that started making airbags first. Now, it offers adaptive cruise control and night vision devices. It is working now on taking out stereo cameras that can help in pedestrian detection and lane departure warning. These cameras will also help in roadside recognition alerts. These cameras are likely to become popular very quickly. The blind-spot radar system along with the stereo cameras is a package that includes rear cross-traffic alert signals. This system alerts you on the approaching cars from the side when you are backing out of a parking space. This is a two-sensor system and costs about hundred dollars per sensor. These stereo cameras can do many things. Their most common feature will be lane-departure warning. The cameras can also control your high and low beams which will make it very convenient for you. The cameras can also recognize traffic signs and they can warn you about forward collision. There are certain things you can do with a camera which you cannot do with the radars and that is the recognition of traffic signs. The cost of the stereo cameras is not going to be much more expensive than the radar sensors. Introducing the stereo cameras to the cars’ safety system will help in reducing traffic accidents, particularly those accidents which involve pedestrians. The stereo cameras will use a six-dimensional analysis of image and they will be able to gauge the direction in which there is a forward movement. They will also be able to gauge a range with an accuracy of between twenty to thirty centimeters at a distance of twenty to thirty meters. The stereo cameras have a range of up to sixty meters which will help in the improvement of braking systems. The stereo cameras are going to set a good trend in the future of safety applications with their ability to help in lane departure warning and control of smart beams. About half of the reported accidents that result in major personal injuries are involving pedestrians and cars at the intersections. The stereo cameras’ ability to better gauge movements will help reduce such kinds of accidents. In heavy traffic conditions, these cameras will also alert the driver when the car ahead of him or her has moved if the driver does not react in few seconds. The technology can also help reduce damages caused by collision by cutting down the acceleration when it spots an obstacle in front and when the pedal is still being pushed forward. It will also be effective when a driver gets into the ‘drive’ mode unintentionally instead of the ‘reverse’ mode when backing out in a parking space. The design of the cameras will give an angle of detection wider than that provided by the radars.