Headlights are a very necessary part of any vehicle that is traveling at night or in low light conditions. Not only do headlights illuminate the way for the operator of the vehicle, they allow others to see that vehicle clearly. Now new Ford headlight technology is aiming to make headlights an even better safety feature for all.
Ford says that headlights can be made safer by illuminating the areas of the road you’re not always paying attention to. For the most part we drive with our eyes looking straight ahead exactly where our headlights illuminate. But more often than not there are hazards to the left and right of where our headlights are shining. This is where Ford’s technology comes in. Using infrared cameras the car can detect body heat to the sides of the car and a spotlight will illuminate that area of the road. This is particularly good when people are riding bikes or walking on the shoulder. Not only will you get a spotlight on the hazard but it will also show on screen in the car with a yellow box around it.
Developed at our Research and Innovation Centre in Aachen, Germany, our Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System can widen the beam at junctions and roundabouts.
Building upon Adaptive Front Lighting System and Traffic Sign Recognition, the system interprets traffic signs to better illuminate hazards that are not in the direction of travel, and uses GPS information for enhanced lighting when encountering bends and dips on a chosen route.
Where GPS information is not available, a video camera detects lane markings and predicts the road’s curvature. When next the driver uses the same road again, the headlights adapt to the course of the road automatically.
Ford says that one in five accidents happen on unlit roads pulling data from a UK government study. They expect this technology to start going into their cars in the “near term”.
What do you think of Ford’s new headlight technology? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
