When driving in the dark, pedestrians, cyclists and animals can sometimes appear out of nowhere, giving drivers quite a shock. But, new technology could soon make it easier for motorists to spot them in the future.
Car manufacturer Ford is developing a smart headlight system that uses an infrared camera to detect potential hazards along the road and highlight them to the driver.
New spot lighting technology helps draw the driver’s attention to up to 8 pedestrians, cyclists and even large animals in the vehicle’s path or even just off the road, using an infra-red camera in the front grill at a range of up to 120 metres.
The system can ‘spotlight’ two hazards for the driver with a spot and a stripe on the road surface, illuminated by two special LED lamps next to the fog lights. The highlighted objects are displayed on the screen inside the car, marked in a red or yellow frame, according to the proximity of the object and the level of danger presented.
Ford’s camera-based advanced front lighting system can also widen the beam at junctions and roundabouts to better illuminate hazards that are not in the direction of travel.
The system also uses GPS information to better illuminate bends and dips on a chosen route. Where GPS information is not available the technology uses a forward-facing video camera mounted in the rear-view mirror base to detect lane markings and predict the road’s curvature, using the information to illuminate the area more effectively. Also in those instances, the camera stores the information in the navigation system. When next the driver uses the same road again, the headlights adapt to the course of the road automatically to better light the way.
The video above shows you just how they work!
Posted in: Industry News
By Big Tyres Team
28 July 2015
