Seeing beyond the lights
a night-time boost to car safety is in the offing from an affordable infrared ( ir ) camera that will detect hazards beyond the limit of headlights. ir night vision systems are currently the exclusive preserve of military vehicles and warplanes. But researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory ( ornl ), Tennessee, us , believe ir image-enhancement equipment, which have a wide variety of applications, can be mass produced. They could be attached to cars and light aircraft for less than us $1,050.
The high cost of conventional ir night-vision technology is brought about by its sophisticated optics and the need for liquid nitrogen to cool its expensive sensors. The new system