NHTSA OKs advanced headlights for use in U.S.

EmersonHart13

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This is exciting...

NHTSA OKs advanced headlights for use in U.S.

5-year process to get technology long used in Europe and Japan

WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Thursday said it was moving to allow advanced headlights known as "adaptive driving beams" to be used in vehicles on U.S. roads, a technology that could help prevent nighttime crashes.

The agency said it was acting in response to a petition filed by Toyota in 2013 to allow the lights, which provide more illumination than existing lights without a glare to oncoming motorists by using additional sensors to automatically adjust lights.

NHTSA said the lights offer "potentially significant safety benefits in avoiding collisions with pedestrians, cyclists, animals, and roadside objects."

The headlights have been permitted in Europe for more than a decade and are also allowed in Japan and other countries.

Volkswagen AG also petitioned the agency in 2016 to allow the lights on its Audi A7 luxury cars, while BMW AG filed a similar petition in October 2017.

The problem is the lights ran afoul of U.S. rules setting maximum levels for lower beams.

The agency noted that a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that pedestrian deaths in dark conditions jumped 56 percent from 2009 to 2016.

At the direction of Congress, NHTSA began extensive research into the impact of nighttime glare in 2005.

Unlike some automatic headlight switch systems from high to low beams, adaptive headlights use sensors, cameras, data-processing software, and headlamp hardware to detect oncoming and preceding vehicles and automatically adjust the headlamp beams.

NHTSA said it was proposing to amend current safety rules that bar the advanced lights but will still need to take final action after receiving public comment before it can the allow the new lights. The agency is also proposing new test measures to ensure the systems work as planned.

NHTSA has received thousands of complaints about headlight glare over the past four decades, especially with the introduction of halogen lights in the late 1970s and then high-intensity discharge lights in the 1990s.

Reporting by David Shepardson

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/11/nhtsa-oks-advanced-headlights-safety/
 

jason05gt

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Jan 17, 2007
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this stuff really doesn't exist already?

I thought [MENTION=396]Mike K[/MENTION] said that bmw's adaptive headlights work this way?

These are much more advanced.


"The headlights keep a constant high beam active, while various portions constantly adapt to the road ahead. In Opel’s system, developed under General Motors ownership, 16 LED segments, eight in each headlight, constantly adapt to road conditions, changing the lighting cone shape and intensity automatically with help from the onboard Opel Eye camera. As the photo below shows, the headlights can block out light for oncoming cars, traffic in front of the vehicle and more while keeping optimal lighting for areas that still require light."

Sounds pretty cool.
 

Yaj Yak

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The ones that are basically in high beam mode 100% of the time and split the beam for oncoming traffic and cars that are in front of you so that you don't blind them? If you've been living under a rock here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tajs8sqfOQY

So since we're America, land of the free, we can't have nice things unless they pass our arduous DOT process. And basically BMW and Audi said fuck it and ship the cars without the feature. So those awesome new lights on the A8? They're just standard LED headlights without any of the cool features. Same with the new 7 series BMW LEDs.

So there's this site that you can enter the VIN on any BMW and get a complete build sheet for it. That's a pretty cool thing to have when you're looking for specific option packages. Then I noticed all the cars had something titled "5AP Decoding for no-dazzle high-beam assistance".

As an aside, coding is huge in the BMW community. You can basically program the car to do anything you want. People program them so their mirrors fold when they're locked, so that they display speed in the center display, closing the trunk with the remote instead of just opening it... If it can be done, someone has coded it.

So I look to see what the no-dazzle decoding is and basically it's just BMW shutting off the awesome lights as part as the pre-delivery inspection. So the cars are shipped here with the bad-ass lights fully functional and are essentially neutered by a BMW tech before you pick it up.

And of course all you need to do is disable the coding the dealer puts in there and bam: it's all back. One dude put a GoPro on his headlight to catch it all in action:



And with BMW (maybe other manufacturers as well) it's not just the LEDs that are full adaptive. The Xenon cars are too. In fact, the car in the above video is a Xenon car.

I'm a techy. I love stuff like this so maybe I'm exciting for something nobody else cares about.

These are much more advanced.


"The headlights keep a constant high beam active, while various portions constantly adapt to the road ahead. In Opel’s system, developed under General Motors ownership, 16 LED segments, eight in each headlight, constantly adapt to road conditions, changing the lighting cone shape and intensity automatically with help from the onboard Opel Eye camera. As the photo below shows, the headlights can block out light for oncoming cars, traffic in front of the vehicle and more while keeping optimal lighting for areas that still require light."

Sounds pretty cool.

Stop BMW humping KJ.

#BMWISTHEFASTESTBMWISTHEBEST







:rofl:

k guys.

i did say "I READ THE ARTICLE"


so this stuff can be coded into bmw's and audi's already... and has been able to for four years. so while not oem, the functionality is easily added

i know it's not automatic highs :rofl:
 

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/ctd/d/2014-bmw-5-series-535d-sport/6580681901.html

I can't even explain how cool and rare this is. The diesel 535's are rare enough on their own but to find a fully optioned one is like finding a unicorn. These cars are awesome because they're torque monsters, drive smooth as butter, handle amazingly and get 26 miles per gallon in the city and 38 on the highway. That's silly for a car like this.

But it get's better... The car is equipped with the LED headlights that can be coded for full euro anti-glare auto high beams. I had these on my 2014 535D and they are absolutely astonishing. Essentially your high beams are always on but dip and move to create tunnels of dark spots that follow oncoming traffic and cars in front of you. So when you're on the expressway and coming up on a car, your high beams split to create a box of low beam light and as the car in front of you moves that box of darkness moves with it.

https://youtu.be/-dvPZ3H1Vm4?t=40s

But it gets even better. Have you heard about that fancy new tech from Tesla called Autopilot? Yeah, about that... Autopilot (in it's first iteration) is actually a product from a company called Mobileye that Tesla installed in their vehicles, wrote software for and called Autopilot. It primarily utilizes a front facing camera and a radar sensor to do all the heavy lifting.

And this proves the genius of Tesla's ability to market without marketing because before the Model S received Autopilot, BMW was actually installing a feature called traffic jam assist on 5 series that were optioned with the forward facing camera and radar cruise... 5 series like this one.

Oh but Mike, I've never heard of that! That's because like the cool headlights, they decoded the option for the US and removed the torque sensor in the steering wheel. But alas, with an inexpensive torque sensor simulator and some coding, you can have a fully loaded 5 series with low speed (up to 35mph) Autopilot that will do braking, accelerating and steering for you in traffic conditions. Drive to Chicago on the Kennedy? This is your fucking jam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA0oS6TgVcs

Do you need more reasons to buy? Ok... Color heads up display, Harmon Kardon Stereo, Active comfort seats, rear and side sunshades and everything else that makes the F10 5 series so amazing.

But here's the number one reason to buy: If someone else doesn't get it I will. And I don't have any room and I don't feel like actively trying to sell the Q5 to make room. Someone buy this. It's a fantastic price. I checked it out yesterday. Other than some marks on the bumper covers it's in great condition.

:rofl: i was defniitely mistaken that i thought it existed stock already... but i was right on with the tech being easily added and how it works.




weird. another [MENTION=396]Mike K[/MENTION] post about it existing











[MENTION=396]Mike K[/MENTION] is my spirit animal.
 

CMNTMXR57

GM, Holden & Chrysler Mini-Van nut swinger
Sep 12, 2008
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All for this...

I would also hope that it's a bit smoother transition than the auto-highs/low's in it's change reaction. (mind you I can't watch the video here at work so that may answer my comment).

The ones on the Caddy aren't as sensitive as the ones on the new van, but it's like going blind when they flip off because all the sudden, all that lumen output is gone. Changing of the cone or direction of the cone wouldn't make it as noticable without reducing that output.
 

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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All for this...

I would also hope that it's a bit smoother transition than the auto-highs/low's in it's change reaction. (mind you I can't watch the video here at work so that may answer my comment).

The ones on the Caddy aren't as sensitive as the ones on the new van, but it's like going blind when they flip off because all the sudden, all that lumen output is gone. Changing of the cone or direction of the cone wouldn't make it as noticable.

yeah it's a lot more technical than you're thinking.

to overly simplify it, your headlights basically steer around vehicles lighting up anything and everything in front of you while not blinding other cars.
 
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