Smart Headlights Introduced by Ford Germany
Engineering360 News Desk | July 22, 2015Ford is combining technologies to make headlights work more smartly. Using a camera at the front of the car, infrared detection, GPS and traffic signal recognition, the headlight technology can vary light intensity and aim to better illuminate the road and potential hazards.
Source: Ford.comFord’s Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System builds on adaptive front lighting and traffic sign recognition systems already available in Ford vehicles to read route signs and widen the beam at unlit intersections to better illuminate hazards that are not directly in front of the vehicle.
The technology also works with the navigation system to read the route and remember what it has previously done in lighting the same route. Where GPS information is not available, the camera mounted in the interior rearview mirror reads lane markings to gauge the flow of the road and adapt lighting in bends, dips and rises as needed. It also stores the navigation system data for future reference.
The technology uses an infrared camera in the front grille to detect and track up to eight hazards simultaneously at a range of 120 meters. The two closest obstacles are spotlighted by LED lamps next to the fog lights and displayed on a screen for the driver to see.
The technology was developed at Ford’s European Research and Innovation Center in Aachen, Germany, and is expected to be available on production vehicles in the near future.
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