Audi is not the only "light factory". These lights are more dazzling.

When it comes to the term "lighting factory", there are two brands that we are most familiar with. One is Razer in the computer field, and the other is Audi, a luxury car manufacturer. Compared with their competitors, the products of these two companies are not only equally excellent, but they have also invested more experience in "lighting" than their competitors, and have also achieved considerable success, earning the reputation of "lighting factory".

In the automotive field, Audi is undoubtedly more attractive in terms of automotive lighting technology compared to its two most direct competitors, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Audi not only has many exclusive automotive lighting technologies, but also has a sense of technology in the shape and design of its lighting, becoming a benchmark in the industry. But in fact, it is not just Audi. In fact, many other manufacturers or institutions have also developed technologies that can rival or even surpass those of lighting manufacturers. Let's take a look at the lighting technologies that can rival or even surpass those of lighting manufacturers.

Audi matrix laser headlights balance brightness and range

Before introducing the competitors, let’s first take a look at the “headlight factory’s” own specialties. Laser headlights, which are favored by many appearance lovers, can no longer meet the needs of headlight factories. Now Audi is developing a matrix-beam technology that integrates laser with the original matrix LED lighting technology to bring a new matrix laser headlight technology.

When the vehicle speed is low, the headlights will shorten the lighting distance to provide a wider lighting range so that the driver can clearly see the road conditions ahead. When the vehicle is driving at high speed, the headlights will automatically change the projection angle of the light so that the driver can see objects farther away. In addition, the matrix laser headlights can also automatically adjust the irradiation area to prevent glare to other traffic participants. If this matrix laser headlight technology can be put into practical use, drivers can give full play to the advantages of laser and matrix when facing oncoming vehicles and driving alone on the highway, bringing a more perfect lighting effect.

Mercedes-Benz intelligent LED lights automatically adjust the lighting range

When driving at night, we often encounter the problem of being dazzled by the headlights of oncoming vehicles, which can easily lead to accidents. In order to avoid this situation and ensure safe driving, the famous automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz recently launched a multi-beam intelligent LED car headlight. The 84 independent LED lighting units inside can be adjusted according to different driving conditions to minimize the probability of accidents caused by headlights.

In addition to higher brightness, multi-beam intelligent LED headlights can also solve many complex lighting problems during driving. For example, when following other vehicles at night, multi-beam intelligent LED headlights will adjust the lighting range by controlling the switches of 84 lighting units to avoid the position of the vehicle in front. In this way, the driver of the vehicle in front will not be disturbed by the glare of the light when looking in the rearview mirror. At the same time, when passing an oncoming vehicle, multi-beam intelligent LED headlights can also use cameras to avoid the position of the oncoming vehicle, thereby preventing the driver of the oncoming vehicle from being dazzled by the light and affecting driving safety.

BMW Intelligent Laser Headlights

BMW brought its own intelligent laser headlight system to CES at the beginning of last year. This system will not affect other traffic participants, and has an anti-glare function with automatic adjustment of the light beam and lighting area. It can automatically adjust the light to avoid the area of ​​oncoming vehicles, ensuring that other drivers' vision is not disturbed, thereby improving two-way driving safety.

In addition, this set of laser headlights has a maximum lighting range of 600 meters, and will be combined with the cameras, sensors and driving assistance functions on the car to make the lighting system more intelligent.

Ultra-low power consumption OLED taillight

In addition to the laser intelligent headlights, BMW also put a lot of thought into the taillights, and also created its own sharp shape. This taillight is made of many pieces of OLED light-emitting materials, which not only has good visibility and low reflectivity, but also has relatively low energy consumption. The taillight uses two-dimensional OLED light-emitting materials, and BMW may go a step further in the future and use flexible or even three-dimensional OLED materials to create taillights.

BMW said it hopes to apply OLED taillights to future models within three years. However, BMW also said that the technology will not replace current headlight technology on a large scale in the early stage. Since the current OLED luminous materials are not bright enough to replace the taillights, headlights and turn signals of cars, they will be used as auxiliary lighting technology.

Ford's smart headlights can detect pedestrians ahead

Smart cars are not only about more functional in-vehicle systems, but also about making cars safer for drivers and pedestrians. Ford has launched a smart lighting system called Spot Lighting, which can help drivers better avoid pedestrians and other obstacles when driving at night.

Anyone who has experience driving at night must know that when a vehicle is driving straight, the headlights can only illuminate the road ahead, and the front and sides of the vehicle are still dark. However, pedestrians may appear in this area, and by the time the driver finds them, it may be too late. To avoid this safety hazard, Ford has added an infrared imager to the Spot Lighting system. The system can determine the location of pedestrians and assess their danger by detecting heat sources. After that, the fog lights under the headlights will turn on, allowing the driver to see the potential danger.

Not only that, thanks to Ford's adaptive lighting technology and traffic sign recognition technology, Spot Lighting can also use the camera installed on the rearview mirror and GPS to automatically judge the road conditions and adjust the lighting parameters such as beam width accordingly, such as increasing the lighting range when turning or passing through intersections. At the same time, these parameters will also be recorded and automatically called when the vehicle passes here again.

Mazda's adaptive headlights automatically turn off high beams when approaching a car

When driving in the countryside without street lights, everyone needs to turn on the high beam to see the situation ahead clearly. However, the high beam is too concentrated and bright, which can easily cause trouble to other drivers. One of the most annoying things for friends who often drive is that oncoming cars do not turn off the high beam when meeting them and dazzle them. At the same time, they often make such mistakes and cause inconvenience to others.

Japanese automaker Mazda has developed its ALH "Adaptive LED Array Headlight" technology. The adaptive beam technology divides the LED light group of the headlight into four independent control modules, detects oncoming and front vehicles through a camera, and then disables the lighting of LED lights in a specific direction, effectively avoiding the trouble of high beams to others and the trouble of constantly switching between high and low beams for the driver.

This lighting system is known for its wide range of short-focus light. LED bulbs are added to the sides of the headlights to illuminate the edge of the road in front of the car. The highway mode will automatically increase the front illumination angle when the car is driving at high speed to illuminate road signs and road obstacles ahead.

The new intelligent LED headlights can realize the road ahead but not directly illuminate the vehicle in front, which means you can keep the high beam on without affecting other vehicles. In night mode, the headlights are automatically leveled through motor adjustment, automatically raising the front illumination angle, illuminating the road signs and road obstacles ahead, so that the driver can see the traffic signs earlier when driving at high speed.

Smart car lights use rain and snow refraction to improve visibility in harsh environments

How to improve visibility in harsh environments such as rain and snow, and improve the safety of drivers and pedestrians, has always been the most essential purpose of car lighting technology. Not only car manufacturers, but also scientists from many universities are conducting such research. Carnegie Mellon University is developing a new smart car light that can automatically adjust the direction of light in harsh environments such as rain, projecting light onto raindrops, thereby greatly improving visibility in harsh environments.

This smart headlight has 1 million independent light beams, each of which can be controlled by a computer. In the headlight, there is a camera for detecting the current light distribution. When it detects an oncoming car, or rain, road signs or other objects in front, the computer will adjust the light beam according to the current light distribution. The brightness of the light will be adjusted dynamically to ensure that the driver's eyes are in the most comfortable state, and it can also screen part of the reflected light from the outside, while not dazzling the eyes of the opposite driver.

In the future, Carnegie Mellon University plans to integrate GPS data into the adjustment of headlights, automatically adjusting the lighting route according to the front line of the car, so that drivers can better see the current lane conditions. At the same time, this type of headlight will also add obstacle detection function, which can warn of obstacles on the road ahead in advance.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.