Hella has announced that it has developed and supplied to Audi a headlamp system that automatically adjusts high-beam light patterns for other traffic and pedestrians.
Recently introduced on the Audi A8 in Europe, Hella’s Matrix LED headlamp system uses camera-based technology to create glare-fee “tunnels” in front of a vehicle. The system allows car owners to continually use their high beams without fear of blinding other drivers, it is claimed.
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Each headlamp contains 25 electronically controlled LEDs that provide an “almost infinite variety of light patterns while eliminating the need for mechanical parts to pivot the lamp”. The headlamp can be operated at full power or its intensity lowered as required.
The system’s individually controlled LEDs make it possible to create two or more “dark” zones or tunnels for traffic ahead to maximise both safety and visibility. For example, if there are two oncoming vehicles, Hella’s matrix headlamps actually will “mask out” the approaching vehicles, while maintaining high-beam lighting between the two cars, as well as to the right and left of each one.
In addition to creating glare-free traffic zones, Hella’s matrix high beams also adjust to provide maximum lighting along bends and curves in the road.
Hella says that LED lighting is much closer to natural sunlight than other light sources and helps reduce a driver’s susceptibility to fatigue. Without the need for mechanical parts, pivots or shutters, automotive LED lighting also is more durable than traditional lighting and has the potential to last the lifetime of a vehicle, it is claimed.
In addition to their work on Audi’s Matrix LED system, Hella and Audi also have developed for the A8 a new Xenon headlight and an LED headlamp with a static high beam for the US market.
