New black box to help investigate better

New black box for vehicles helps to reconstruct traffic accidents

With more and more companies seeking to investigate accidents involving automobiles produced by them, the use of black boxes is on the rise. Known as Event Data Recorders (EDR’S), black boxes have been around since 1994. Some 60 per cent of the new cars sold in the US have black boxes as a standard feature. In fact, all cars and trucks built in the last 13 years by General Motors in the US have them installed. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ruled that by the year 2010, all cars should have this as standard equipment. However, this is a voluntary requirement. In a handful of US states, there is legislation that requires auto dealers to notify new buyers that a black box is installed in the car. The owner of the vehicle does own the information, but in case of an accident, insurance companies, law enforcement and court officials can get access to the data through a court order.“

In what is seen as a new development, Sharp has developed a camera system that records what is happening on the road with a 180 degree lens and a memory capacity of up to six hours. The heart of the travel recorder is a two megapixel CMOS sensor in one-quarter inch format, combined with a 180 degree lens in order to record what happens across the entire width of the road. The black box system comes in two versions, one for rear-view and the other for front-view applications. Initially launched on the Japanese market it will help reconstructing the circumstances of traffic accidents. Further improved Charge-coupled Device (CCD) and Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) automotive camera modules will soon also be used as sensors for pre-crash and driver assistance systems in Europe.““The high-sensitive modules deliver clear images, due to their light sensitivity of just 1.8 lux, the equivalent of the ambient light of a moonlit road. By using a new software, the next generation of CCD modules will also superimpose automatic guidelines that will mark the danger zone, e.g. when reversing. Due to their light sensitivity CCD modules are still ahead at the moment in comparison to CMOS sensors. But in the long term CMOS modules will be used more and more as rear-view cameras. CMOS is the technology of choice for sensors for active driver assistance systems that intervene automatically in driving if there is a hazard. High frame rates and dynamics greater than 100 decibel (dB) are required, particularly for front cameras, in order to get clear images under even the most extreme light/dark contrast conditions. Equipped with roller shutters, the next generation of CMOS camera modules for active driver assistance systems achieves shutter speeds of up to 30 images a second with a dynamic range of 100 dB. As a comparison: the human eye can take in around 14 images a second with a dynamic range of 105 dB.““When the CMOS sensors will have achieved the necessary image performance in dark environments, they will bring further advantages, such as lower costs, higher resolution, and a more compact design. This is because the image processor can be integrated directly onto the camera chip.