High tech headlight can avoid the traffic accident experts urged the United States to change the rules

Imagine a picture of the future: you are driving at night, the high beam lights, you don't have to remember to open them, they will automatically become bright. When the car close to the oncoming vehicle headlamps, high-tech (can send thousands of independent lighting, and the use of on-board camera and sensor data to the focused beam) will form a black hole, in order to protect the other driver's vision. Down the road, a deer appeared from the woods, the Lantern Festival is marked with a glimmer of light. The adaptive high beam lighting, avoiding potential disaster.

In Europe, you can use this system, which is now the future of the world.

If you are like most people, you may not think too much about cars and big things, in addition to opening and closing, occasionally opening flash. University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) headlamp expert Michael Flannagan conducted extensive research on automotive lighting, he also discovered this point.

He said: "even the professional drivers don't seem to understand the risks associated with the dark. We estimate, because the darkness has killed more than 2000 people each year, mostly by pedestrians. They suddenly emerged from the darkness, so fast that the driver did not respond."

Flannagan believes that part of the problem is the driver, even skilled drivers, they often do not make full use of light. The data can be traced back to 1960s, in order to prove this point.

He said, "the design speed of 35 to 40 miles, so if you meet a drunk texting, or what other pedestrians, and you were driving at 55 miles, you don't have a feeling, because there is not enough lighting."

In the United States each year, driving more than 3 trillion miles away, weak light accidents for pedestrians than other types of traffic accidents may be more deadly, but the number is not much.

Nevertheless, with the headlights of the accident have attracted the attention of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rating system last year launched the headlights. Not long ago, the organization released a report, more than half of the U.S. market and medium-sized SUV headlamps named "marginal" or "poor", only two was "good".

Now, the camera and the sensor used in conjunction with the semi automatic function, can realize the automatic brake, let the car fixed driving, and when the blind spot with the car, but also to remind the driver. Unfortunately, the United States headlight technology is not so advanced. Audi and Mercedes Benz and other car manufacturers have developed headlamps, can improve driver visibility and reduce glare to other drivers.

However, current federal regulations (especially the federal motor vehicle safety standard 108) presents a challenge to use this new technology. For example, Audi light matrix (Matrix Beam), using LED light from a single laser is separated, the formation of numerous small beams, some points can reduce glare, enhance the brightness of the other points.

Flannagan said: "the United States and European regulations differ in philosophy, Europe covers most of the rest of the world. The United States is based on the manufacturer's self certification regulations, rather than the European type approval."

This means that in the United States, the company to prove their products comply with federal standards. The standard itself contains many pages of obscure information from which the light - what color, how to test the lighting, light source and so on.

Flannagan said: "the company responsible to achieve this standard. If someone points out that the vehicle does not meet the requirements, companies have a responsibility to prove it."

Methods compare europe. In Europe, government approved an independent agency to assess the company's technology. Do not need to comply with the test standard of American style, subjective assessment of the efficacy of the system of lighting engineers. In Europe, the vehicle manufacturers will be sent to the test chamber, the test chamber to send engineers to evaluate the real road conditions of lighting, an engineer in the car and also observe the brightness of an engineer is on the opposite side of the car to find "undue glare". The road type and the other depending on the test room.

The United States is more specific. Flannagan said: "the federal government will not delay. Everyone in the resources as much as possible light technology use before. People are usually not willing to pay more for better light, but also do not have much interest in technology."

No matter how the regulatory barriers, carmakers and federal policy makers are working together, the introduction of new lighting technology in the United states. For example, a few years ago, TOYOTA proposed adaptive beamforming technology application to the U.S. national highway traffic safety administration. Last summer, after two years of deliberation, the American Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) suggested that the adaptive beam from the headlamp to rely on laboratory test field test change. Other manufacturers are also actively promoting regulatory reform.

Flannagan said, "the industry standard requirements, but they just want clear rules, this is strange." In the self certification system, in a self certification system, clear rules that can reduce the possibility that was in the late of non-compliance. "Are relatively simple to achieve this function in any car is equipped with a front camera. What you need is a software." (compiled: LED James)

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