FLIR + HID in select cars let you see animals/people at night

[techweenie]

I found this interesting (yes, it's our show, so self-interest: served).

[GH85Carrera]

Oh, man that is an option I want to retro fit ASAP

I wonder how long before there is a aftermarket kit available for reasonable cost.

[techweenie]

Actually, what I heard in the video is that it is 'dealer installed,' so maybe an aftermarket option now...? I'll check with the producer.

[SilberUrS6]

I'd like the camera to be Bluetooth-enabled, then have an app for my phone. I would put my phone on the dash, and the screen would project a HUD image on the windscreen. I want my head up and looking out, not looking at the dash. Oh, and I want to be able to use my phone/tablet/whatever device in any car without having to mount a big LCD in all of the cars.

I can see my wife's tablet as being a great HUD projector...

[techweenie]

Agree. I'm willing to bet we'll see some of this tech start to show up at SEMA next month and at CES in Jan.

[Touque]

It really is cool technology and something which can make night-time driving much more safe. I've driven the demo BMW 650 with the FLIR PathFindIR (an old product) and it's pretty fun. Since you essentially 'see' heat, lights don't blind you and you can see up to 4 times farther than with visible light. This old system was marketed to emergency personnel (police, fire, etc.).

One problem I found, was that I unconsciously started driving off the small LCD screen rather than looking through the window and glancing down at what the FLIR camera was showing - not a good idea!

IR cores have been dramatically reduced in size and cost recently, so I could easily see this being much more mass-marketed in the near future and something a DIY'er or stereo install shop could easily do.

[red-beard]

I need to see if I can get this installed on my 2011 BMW-X5