TU-TESL

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In the future, the car will mainly rely on three kinds of on-board sensors: camera, radar and lidar. However, according to foreign media reports, adasky, an Israeli start-up, hopes to use thermal imaging technology. At present, all countries in the world are using thermal imaging technology to find targets under low visibility. AdaSky believes that thermal imaging technology can help autopilot detect the surrounding environment when other sensors fail. (image source: adasky) thermal imaging, also known as infrared, uses part of the spectrum to detect heat emitted by people and objects. Raz Peleg, adasky's sales director, said that because thermal imaging does not rely on light in the visible spectrum, it can work in weather conditions such as sunlight, rain, fog or snow, in which case the camera or lidar may fail. Low visibility is very dangerous for driving. Recently, a study by the American Automobile Association found that pedestrian detection systems perform poorly in dark conditions, resulting in an increased risk of collision. Peleg said adasky's technology could improve the performance of these systems. It is not affected by the flashing headlights of the oncoming cars, and can detect people or objects partially blocked by fences and other objects. In a fusion car equipped with adasky prototype sensors, objects detected by the sensors are displayed on the laptop in the form of black-and-white images. Like the engines of other vehicles, people look like luminous white objects against a black background. Adasky has a proprietary machine learning algorithm that can know the location of the road. The algorithm is based on the different temperature and the way of heat dissipation. Peleg points out that adasky's sensors cannot recognize traffic lights because the images are black and white. However, in mass production vehicles, the traditional camera can solve this problem. Compared with most lidar sensors at present, adasky's sensors are cheaper and smaller, and can be installed behind the car grille. Peleg also said that unlike radar and lidar, thermal imaging is "passive", which does not send signals to detect nearby obstacles, but absorbs the heat generated by people and objects around, so it consumes less power than other sensors. For electric vehicles, it has advantages. AdaSky plans to use its sensors for autonomous driving and driving assistance systems. So far, the company has reached an agreement with an American carmaker to use its technology for trucks.