Australasian Mining Review
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/37922
259 Vehicle rear vision systems Vehicle rear vision systems have been available in Australia around 30 years, however it has only been in recent years that we have seen a steady demand for vehicle mounted CCTV in many large vehicles. Originally designed purely as a reversing aid, the rear view camera system has improved immeasurably. TV screen and usually weighed over 10kg each. This restricted their use to very large vehicles only. Modern CCTV monitors are slimline LCD screens in such a variety of sizes there is a screen suitable for any vehicle, large or small. Originally camera systems only displayed black and white images. Today black and white CCTV has almost been totally phased out in preference of colour. Colour images have made a huge difference to CCTV. The colour images are much easier for vehicle operators to use, and recognition of the image being displayed on the screen is much quicker when looking at a colour monitor. T Another important improvement has been the introduction of Monitors that can incorporate multiple cameras on a single vehicle. Cameras can now be used to monitor the rear of a vehicle, as well as side and front blind spots, and are even used for task monitoring, sometimes all on the one vehicle. On mining vehicles we see narrow angle cameras used to monitor tasks such as cables rolling over drums, and drills. The narrow angle camera gives a more ‘true to life’ view rather that the original wider angle view reversing camera. Due to the large size of most mining vehicles, the inclusion of CCTV has become an important safety feature for both worker and vehicle operators. Vehicle mounted cameras eradicate blind spots from these large vehicles therefore eliminating vehicle damage, human injuries and fatalities. Via the use of CCTV cameras strategically placed around, and sometimes under, large vehicles, an operator can now be confi dent he or she is not going to collide with another vehicle, piece of equipment or fellow worker. The most recent improvement has been the development of camera recording technology. We now see the inclusion of monitors with recording capabilities as well as ruggardised stand alone DVR recorders with the ability to record and store video images from up to 12 cameras positioned around a single vehicle. DVR recording devices are currently being used most often in the waste and recycling industries to monitor contamination of recycling materials _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Vehicle Rear Vision Systems] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ issue 2.2 he first major improvement in CCTV has clearly been the size of cameras and monitors. Original systems were large and cumbersome. The monitors looked more like an old fashioned CRT and events such as a bin not being left out, or a traffic accident . In the last six months we have seen the inclusion of a forward facing camera that’s image is not viewed by the driver, but is recorded. This view has proved necessary following a number of traffic accidents, at least one of then fatal, where the accident happened at the front of the vehicle. Unfortunately this angle of view was not picked up by any of the other four cameras positioned around the vehicle. It became necessary to improve the overall viewing around the vehicle by including a forward facing camera, when the cause of the accident and driver at fault was unable to be determined. Even though this example is from a waste vehicle we can see the need for similar recording features to be included on camera systems in mining vehicles. by Rear Vision Systems www.rearvisionsystems.com.au