In 1920, famed aviator Jimmy Doolittle became the first pilot to take off, fly, and land an airplane solely by reference to instruments. He performed this feat in an airplane whose cockpit was completely blacked out.
Slightly less dangerous was the experience of Justin Bell, who recently drove a BMW X5 from Griffith Park Observatory to downtown Los Angeles solely by reference to the BMW's optional Night Vision. Like Doolittle's biplane, Justin’s windshield was blacked out—although the rest of the windows were left uncovered for safety purposes.
Movie fans will remember that the Griffith Park Observatory featured prominently in such films as Rebel Without A Cause and The Rocketeer, among others. That’s neither here nor there, as far as the Night Vision test is concerned—just an interesting bit of trivia. This time it is the start of Justin Bell’s ten-mile nighttime journey filmed for Motor Trend’s World’s Fastest Car Show. Enjoy the video.
BMW’s Night Vision is certainly impressive. Although purists will point out that it is really thermal/infrared vision, not night vision in the military sense, it still does a good job of picking up the road, trees, people, animals, and other potential obstacles. Having said that, it’s also obvious that the production of Justin’s video was creatively edited and the cyclist, skateboarder, and lady with dog were almost certainly staged for the camera. Editing tricks aside, it seems to demonstrate that when the driver is watching the Night Vision display—and has a front and rear motorcycle escort—it may actually be possible to drive highways and city streets without hitting something.
That’s not what Night Vision is for, however. The system is for detecting imminent threats. The infrared camera in the BMW grille detects objects up to 980 feet ahead of the car. You can see the objects on the screen before they are illuminated by your headlights—if you happen to be looking at the screen. Objects identified as pedestrians, cyclists, and animals are highlighted on the display. The computer calculates the objects’ movements and if it concludes there is a danger of collision, shows a warning on the center stack display screen or on the BMW Head-Up Display if the car is so equipped.
That may be a good reason for buying the Head-Up Display. Otherwise, to make maximum use of Night Vision, the driver would have to include the control screen atop the center stack in his or her visual scan that already includes the road ahead, the instrument cluster, and the mirrors. Anything that takes the driver’s attention away from the road ahead reduces the driver’s time to react to critical situations. Some of us have learned that the hard way. Having the Night Vision alert in the Head-Up Display would at least give the driver an instant or two more warning that something important might be developing ahead of the car.
On a BMW X5 like the one Justin Bell drives in this video, the Night Vision is a $2,600 option. The Head-Up Display that Justin’s X5 may or may not have—we don’t know—is part of a $1,400 package, so getting them both would add $4,000. Worth it? Perhaps some BMW owners who have Night Vision could let us know of real-world situations in which it really helped them prevent a potential disaster.—Scott Blazey
[Photo and video courtesy of MotorTrend.com World's Fastest Car Show.]
