Audi is again reviving an old American trick – albeit with new technology – to give its updated A8, due out at the Frankfurt show, sequential turn signal lights, front and rear.
Each headlight has 18 light emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged in a strip divided into seven blocks. Each tail light contains 24 LEDs in eight segments which light up in sequence in the intended direction of travel.
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During flashing, the blocks are activated at 20 millisecond intervals, from the inside outwards in the desired turning direction. After 150 milliseconds, all segments are bright; for another 250 milliseconds they illuminate with full intensity. Afterwards, the turn signals go dark before repeating the lighting sequence.
As with many innovations in the auto industry, sequential turn indicators aren’t new. Tail lamp units using conventional tungsten bulbs and complex electromechanical controllers were used to provide similar tail light systems for some US car models in the 1960s and 70s, including the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar ‘personal coupe’ models. Audi updated the idea with LEDs and electronic control and first introduced sequential lights on its R8 sportscar about a year ago.
The Volkswagen group premium brand’s so-called ‘Matrix’ headlight units use a further 25 LEDs for a variable high beam light. When the on-board camera detects other vehicles ahead, the headlights mask the relevant sections of the high beam by dimming or shutting off individual diodes. Very bright illumination is preserved in the remaining zones.
The headlight units also include navigation-based cornering lights and, working with the night vision assistant, a marker light that warns the driver of pedestrians in the dark and which also alerts them.
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