Autonomous Driving: Adasky Thermal Imaging Camera Protects Pedestrians Even at Night

Pedestrians pose a significant challenge for sensors. Unlike vehicles, which are clearly detected by cameras due to their taillights, pedestrians blend into the background in poor visibility. When pedestrians move partially obscured among vehicles, the current sensor combination, including radar, is unable to timely declare a person as a pedestrian if only the head and shoulders are visible, and notify the system of a potential danger.

NHTSA Demands Protection in Near-Total Darkness

On March 31, 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tightened the conditions under which emergency braking systems must operate. Now, a vehicle must be able to detect the slightest temperature differences in near-total darkness (with only 0.2 lux brightness). The sensor from the Israeli start-up, in combination with the algorithm, should be able to quickly and reliably attribute the detected thermal characteristics to humans, other living beings, and objects.

Thermal imaging technology helps to prevent accidents

The thermal imaging camera can detect objects up to a distance of 300 meters and classify living beings even at a distance of more than 200 meters, regardless of how poor the visibility is. In contrast, daylight cameras, when typical vehicle headlights illuminate the nighttime scene ahead with low beam, can detect an object up to a distance of about 80 meters but cannot determine whether it is a living being. Therefore, the current sensor technology for ADAS has not been able to prevent the increasing number of fatal pedestrian accidents, especially at night.