Nav-TV/FLIR Night Vision System

^M00:00:01 [ Music ] ^M00:00:03 >> Hi I'm Kevin Massy from CNET.com here at CES 2008 taking a look at what is perhaps the most high tech Car Tech product we have seen so far at our CNET Car Tech testing lab. This is an aftermarket night vision camera supplied by FLIR and NAV TV--two companies that are joining together to bring this remarkable technology to the aftermarket. Now this system works by combining three components; one is an infrared camera that uses far infrared technology mounted on the front of the car which is then connected to a control module from NAV TV and that turns the output into composite video which can then be viewed on your car's in-dash LCD display. Now this technology works by using far infrared or thermal imaging which picks up a heat signature of any obstacles in the road ahead of you while you're driving along. From the cabin what you see is a very crisp image of obstacles ahead on the road. If you flick on your high beams, the system uses a two times digital zoom to give you an even greater visibility of what's ahead of you on the road. It knows if you're putting your high beams on you want to see what's ahead of you on the road even more, and so it uses a two times digital zoom to really bring into focus what's right up ahead of you on the road. Now this system isn't cheap, the camera itself has a price tag of around 4500 dollars; the control module is another 700 and that's exclusive of installation; but what we're seeing here is a technology that takes active safety to another level and makes it available in the aftermarket, not just for people who own hundred thousand dollar cars. I'm Kevin Massy at CES 2008 and we're just taking a First Look at the aftermarket night vision system from FLIR and NAV TV. ^M00:02:03 [ Music ] ^M00:02:05