What Is BMW Night Vision?

BMW Night Vision is a system that uses a thermal imaging camera to help drivers see pedestrians and animals as well as other objects that would otherwise be invisible to them at night, even with the car's headlights. The system is available on quite a few of BMW's models, including the 5-Series, 6-Series, 7-Series, and X5. The Night Vision system can see up to 984 feet ahead of the vehicle in the dark, displaying the image on the Control Display.

If the vehicle is equipped with Night Vision with Pedestrian Detection the system will automatically detect people and highlight them on the screen. If the car is also equipped with a head-up display a warning will also appear in the driver's field of few. On cars equipped with Night Vision with Dynamic light spot the area will be illuminated by a high-power spotlight, giving the driver an even better chance of avoiding an accident, and also serving as a warning for the animal or pedestrian. If the system believes that there is the potential for a collision with an animal it will flash the Dynamic light spot at the animal, while the instrument display will also show a warning. When the risk of collision increases even further, an acoustic warning will sound.