Volume XVII

Volume XVII
Author: Ronald Bruce Gibbons
Publisher:
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"This report is a summary of the photometric characterization of the headlamps that were included in the vision enhancement systems used for the Enhanced Night Visibility (ENV) project. Each of the visible light and ultraviolet sources used for the visibility studies have been photometrically characterized and documented in this report. The report also contains a discussion of the headlamp aiming method"--Technical report documentation p.

Volume XII

Volume XII
Author: Jonathan M. Hankey
Publisher:
Total Pages: 25
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"This volume provides an overview of the six studies that compose Phase II of the Enhanced Night Visibility project and the experimental plan for its third and final portion, Phase III. The Phase II studies evaluated up to 12 vision enhancement systems in terms of drivers' ability to detect and recognize objects, visibility of pavement markings, and discomfort caused by glare from oncoming headlamps. Drivers' ability to detect and recognize objects was assessed in clear, rain, fog, and snow conditions. The results indicated that supplemental ultraviolet headlamps do not provide sufficient benefit to justify further testing. The performance of supplemental infrared (IR) vision enhancement systems, on the other hand, was robust enough to suggest further investigation. As a result, additional IR testing, disability glare testing, and off-axis object detection on the Virginia Smart Road were proposed as a replacement for public road Phase III testing with UV-A. The details of the experimental plan for each of these testing areas are provided in the Phase III portion of this report"--Technical report documentation p.

Enhanced Night Visibility Series

Enhanced Night Visibility Series
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 25
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"This volume provides an overview of the six studies that compose Phase II of the Enhanced Night Visibility project and the experimental plan for its third and final portion, Phase III. The Phase II studies evaluated up to 12 vision enhancement systems in terms of drivers' ability to detect and recognize objects, visibility of pavement markings, and discomfort caused by glare from oncoming headlamps. Drivers' ability to detect and recognize objects was assessed in clear, rain, fog, and snow conditions. The results indicated that supplemental ultraviolet headlamps do not provide sufficient benefit to justify further testing. The performance of supplemental infrared (IR) vision enhancement systems, on the other hand, was robust enough to suggest further investigation. As a result, additional IR testing, disability glare testing, and off-axis object detection on the Virginia Smart Road were proposed as a replacement for public road Phase III testing with UV-A. The details of the experimental plan for each of these testing areas are provided in the Phase III portion of this report"--Technical report documentation page.

Enhanced Night Visibility Series

Enhanced Night Visibility Series
Author: M. Lucas Neurauter
Publisher:
Total Pages: 93
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"Phase II, Study 3 was part of the Enhanced Night Visibility project, a larger research effort investigating drivers' visual performance during nighttime driving. Study 3 helped expand the knowledge of how current vision enhancement systems can affect detection and recognition of different types of objects during adverse weather, specifically for snow conditions. A total of 20 participants detected and recognized different roadway objects while driving experimental vehicles equipped with various headlamps in a snow condition. A 4 by 3 by 2 mixed factorial design was used to investigate the effects of the different types of vision enhancement systems, the types of objects on the roadway, and driver's age on detection and recognition distances. Subjective evaluations for the different systems were obtained as well. The results of the empirical testing suggest that halogen low beam (HLB) configurations combined with an ultraviolet A (UV-A) setup consistently outperform the HLB by itself and the high intensity discharge (HID) configuration with respect to detecting and recognizing pedestrians in a snow environment. All three HLB configurations significantly outperformed the HID configuration for both detection and recognition of the objects presented. The three HLB configurations were not significantly different from each other with respect to recognition distances; however, there was a slight but significant increase in detection distance when the HLB was paired with one of the UV-A systems used. Finally, there were no significant findings for the subjective analysis, although there were some conflicting findings between the subjective and objective data"--Technical report documentation p.

Volume XVIII

Volume XVIII
Author: Jonathan M. Hankey
Publisher:
Total Pages: 21
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"This volume provides an overview of the three studies that compose Phase III of the Enhanced Night Visibility project. The first study compared two prototype near infrared (NIR) vision enhancement systems (VESs), an infrared thermal imaging system (IR-TIS), and three headlamp-only systems in terms of drivers' nighttime detection and recognition of 17 objects. The objects included pedestrians on both sides of straight and curved sections of the road, roadway signs, and obstacles. A subset of the VESs and objects also were tested in rain conditions. The results indicated that both NIR and IR-TIS, if correctly implemented, provided additional detection benefit over headlamps alone for pedestrians in clear conditions. In rain conditions, the NIR also benefited object detection. A disability and discomfort glare study was also conducted with four high intensity discharge lamps and one halogen low-beam lamp. The results indicated that maximum illumination was the best predictor of driver discomfort and disability"--Technical report documentation p.

Volume X

Volume X
Author: Fuat Aktan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

This document describes the development of visual performance simulation software for objects and traffic control devices. The computer model was developed as part of the Enhanced Night Visibility (ENV) Project, a comprehensive evaluation of evolving and proposed headlight technologies under various weather conditions. The computer model is intended to permit comparison of results for specific headlight technologies evaluated under the ENV Project with future technologies.

Volume IX

Volume IX
Author: Ronald Bruce Gibbons
Publisher:
Total Pages: 101
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"The Enhanced Night Visibility (ENV) project is a series of experiments undertaken to investigate different visual enhancement systems (VES) for the nighttime driving task. The purpose of this portion of the ENV project is to establish the photometric nature of the objects presented to the observer. The photometric measurements of interest are the headlamp illuminance, object luminance, and the background luminance. Other calculated parameters were established such as object contrast with the background, reflectance of the objects, and object visibility level. The measurements were taken and calculated for 11 VESs and 8 object types. The correlation of the measurement results to those of the ENV visual performance studies was calculated. It was found that all the calculated metrics were fairly highly correlated to the participant results. The visibility level was the least correlated, and the Weber contrast ratio was the most highly correlated. The transmittance of the atmosphere was also calculated for each of the weather conditions used in the ENV visual performance studies. The correlations calculated for these conditions showed that the Weber contrast was again the most highly correlated metric"--Technical report documentation p.

Enhanced Night Visibility Series

Enhanced Night Visibility Series
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"This volume, an executive summary of the Enhanced Night Visibility project, is the first of 18 volumes that report on the project's evaluation of the merit of implementing supplemental ultraviolet headlamps, supplemental infrared systems, and other vision enhancement systems (VESs) to enhance drivers' nighttime roadway safety. The entire project evaluated 18 VESs in terms of their ability to provide object detection and recognition. Objects included scenarios with pedestrians standing or walking in different locations on the roadway. Pedestrians were dressed in black, white, or blue clothing to produce varying levels of contrast with their surroundings. Detection and recognition testing took place in clear weather, rain, snow, and fog conditions. Project research also evaluated a subset of the VESs for their effect on drivers' disability and discomfort glare. The VESs were also tested for their value in facilitating drivers' detection of pavement markings and other traffic control devices. The results indicated that supplemental ultraviolet headlamps do not provide sufficient benefit to justify further testing; however, supplemental infrared vision enhancement systems do offer an improvement over headlamps alone for detection of pedestrians. Near infrared systems have the potential to provide an added benefit in detecting pedestrians in inclement weather, but the implementation of NIR technology is the key to achieving this benefit"--Technical report documentation page

Volume XVI

Volume XVI
Author: Ronald Bruce Gibbons
Publisher:
Total Pages: 59
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"The Enhanced Night Visibility (ENV) project is a series of experiments undertaken to investigate different visual enhancement systems (VES) for the nighttime driving task. The purpose of this characterization activity is to establish the photometric nature of the objects presented to the observer during the ENV Phase III studies, which assessed headlamp beam patterns as well as the influence of infrared (IR) technology on object detection. The photometric measurements of interest are the object luminance and the background luminance. Other calculated parameters were established such as object contrast with the background and object visibility level. The measurements were taken at the threshold of detection and calculated for three visible-light VESs and three IR VESs. For the visible-light VESs, the photometric data showed the influence of the headlamp distribution and the suitability of the various metrics to predict object visibility. For the IR systems, the data gave an indication of the usage of the in-vehicle systems and their distraction level for the driver"--Technical report documentation p.