Trying to name all the possible distractions we encounter on our daily drives is nearly impossible. We eat, drink, sing, smoke, and even “put our face on” from the driver’s seat. We don’t always mean to let our mind’s eye stray from the road ahead but let’s be honest—it happens. This MobilEye system, sold exclusively in Chicago by Abt, is a third eye watching over all the critical information surrounding your vehicle and alerts you if anything seems out of line. It won’t take action by slamming the brakes or veering left or right, but instead it alerts you if something isn’t as it should be. Who couldn’t use a little safety support behind the wheel these days?
MobilEye does exactly what you would expect a car’s eye to do. Using a custom calibrated camera mounted near the rear view mirror, MobilEye monitors the following and both audibly and visually alerts the driver through the display slightly larger than a golf ball.
Lane detection will alert driver of any cross-over unless the turn-signal is activated
- Alert the driver if a pedestrian is in the vehicle’s path
- Distance from nearest vehicle and alerts if the driver gets within a set distance from the vehicle
- Activates high-beams in darkness and deactivates when it senses another vehicle or traffic light
Works in Cars Young and Old
The images in this post are of two different Abt installs – digital and analog. The two models have almost identical features and alerting capabilities however the analog installation requires a more complex “hard wired” set up because it gets directly to the cars electrical system, rather than through the internal computer system of a newer model. This means all you old school collectors can add an extra dimension of protection on the road.
Connecting MobileEye to the high-beams for an analog installation
While both options provide the same basic set of features, the digital models have an additional Bluetooth feature that relays the alerts to their Android device (Apple support coming later this year) Digital models monitor the streets speed limits and remind you briefly if you venture beyond them.
Custom Calibrated Alerts
Once one of Abt’s award winning installers gets the system hooked up, the control unit is plugged into a computer for calibration. The vehicles height,and wheelbase are entered into the software so the third eye can calculate the vehicle’s relative location and deliver accurate results.
Measuring the car’s height for custom calibration
Enforces Better Driving Habits
Ultimately, MobilEye will make you a better driver. You’re driving habits will adapt as MobilEye alerts you of their shortcomings and gradually corrects the issues. Abt’s analog installation (MobilEye C2-270) was done on a 03 Lincoln so that the (new) driver would develop safer driving habits in his early years on the road and the digital install (Mobileye C560) on the (pictured) Audi was intended to curb the driver’s texting habits. We may even see insurance companies offering discounts for drivers with a unit installed.
The hardware of the system is small and integrates nicely into the cars design so you won’t be bothered by a gaudy display or bulky camera.
You’ve got a lot going on and as much as we don’t like to admit it, we sometimes get distracted from the road ahead and that’s where MobilEye has you covered.
Check out MobilEye on our website for demo videos and more information about their products and holla back in the comments.
– Scott H.
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