The development of an infrared projector

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The development of an infrared projector

Inoue, T. / Yagi, S.

Nighttime accidents have been increasing in line with the rising number of cars being driven at night due to changes in lifestyle. In Japan, these nighttime accidents are caused mainly by drivers' inability to see far enough. They can rarely use driving beams for fear of dazzling oncoming drivers, yet with passing beams they cannot see far enough because regulations require the beams to be angled downward. To solve this problem, a driver's night view assistance system, known as a night viewer system has been developed. The system helps the driver to see as far down the road as driving beams, while driving at night using passing beams. This gives the driver more time to react to dangerous conditions and avoid accidents. An infrared projector casts invisible infrared, and a CCD camera intercepts its reflection and displays it on the display. We have developed an infrared projector for the night viewer system. We applied a projector type headlamp to the projector. Infrared was produced by screening out visible light by a multiple-layer film of silicon (Si) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) deposited alternately on the surface of a condenser lens. Images on the display shown by the projector made it possible to distinguish a person or centerlines that could not be seen by the eye 100 m away. It also produced as good visibility as driving beams when driving at night using passing beams. As the number of traffic accidents is increasing due to the growing use of cars in society, it is hoped that our developed infrared projector for the night viewer system will help reduce traffic accidents.