SWIR cameras for the automotive field: two test cases

This paper focuses on presenting the results obtained by the 2WIDE SENSE Project, an EU funded project aimed at developing a low cost camera sensor able to acquire the full spectrum from the visible bandwidth to the Short Wave InfraRed one (from 400 to 1700 nm) Two specific applications have been evaluated, both related to the automotive field: one regarding the possibility of detecting icy and wet surfaces in front of the vehicle and the other regarding the pedestrian detection capability. The former application rely on the physical fact that water shows strong electromagnetic radiation absorption capabilities in the SWIR band around 1450 nm and thus an icy or wet pavement should be seen as dark, the latter rely on the observation that the amount of radiation in the SWIR band is quite high even at night and in case of poor weather conditions.