Gentex takes stake in Israeli thermal camera company

Gentex Corp., supplier of high-tech rearview mirrors, dimmable glass and automotive electronics, is investing in and collaborating with an Israeli company that has created a small thermal camera.

Such a device can be used to improve the safety of self-driving cars and to help reduce accidents involving pedestrians.

Adasky was founded in Israel in 2016. Its mission: bring to market affordable thermal cameras that fill in gaps left by the sensors in automated driving systems. One camera Adasky offers is less than 2 inches in length but can “see” as far ahead of a vehicle as 984 feet and classify living beings at more than 650 feet, according to the company.

The camera is shutterless and does not need to recalibrate when weather, light and road conditions change.

“Over the last few years, we’ve been investing heavily into our sensing capabilities, and the ADASKY technology was a great fit to complement our existing suite of sensing products,” Gentex CEO Steve Downing said in a statement Monday.

Gentex spokesman Craig Piersma said the camera could be paired with the company’s Full Display Mirror, which uses a camera to project live video on a vehicle’s rearview mirror.

He estimated that the first product of the collaboration could be ready for the market in as soon as two years. Piersma said it’s possible that Gentex could manufacture the cameras in high volume.

The Gentex and Adasky teams will carry out engineering work in Israel.

Gentex, headquartered in Zeeland, Mich., was No. 88 on Automotive News‘ 2022 list of the top 100 suppliers globally, with $1.69 billion in sales to automakers in 2021.