The technology is what interests us, as it is a near-certainty that it will find its way into other vehicles before too long.

The system does more than just highlight possible dangers. For people, the system can predict the trajectory of a person and sound an alert of the predicted trajectory enters what Volkswagen calls the “defined corridor.” The corridor is a set of boundaries along the side of the road the system uses to determine if someone or something is in danger of being hit. Information is relayed to the driver through VW’s Digital Cockpit – the Touareg’s digital instrument panel and screen.

Outside the corridor, pedestrians and animals are highlighted in yellow as the thermal image is colored in black and white. Once the objects enter the corridor (or the trajectory predicts they will enter it), the system highlights the target red. When the vehicle is traveling above 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour), and something is detected in the corridor, the system will automatically turn the imaging screen on in the Digital Cockpit and displays the object.

When traveling under 31 mph (50 kph), a red warning signal lights up in the instrument panel when the thermal imaging display isn’t active. If a Touareg is equipped with a head-up display, a warning chime rings as well as a red single. Along with warning the driving, the braking system is pre-set to provide the highest deceleration rate.