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Ford's New Smart Headlights For Tracking Objects At Night

Posted by samzenpus on from the all-the-better-to-see-you-with dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Headlights have been around since the 1880's, and while the source of their light has changed over the years, their functionality has remained virtually the same, until now. Ford has unveiled a new advanced illumination system that should make driving your car at night a lot safer. The new headlight system uses a standard and infrared camera to detect objects near the road. The new technology can locate and track up to eight people or animals up to 12 meters. Ford reports: "Building upon Adaptive Front Lighting System and Traffic Sign Recognition, the system interprets traffic signs to better illuminate hazards that are not in the direction of travel, and uses GPS information for enhanced lighting when encountering bends and dips on a chosen route. Where GPS information is not available, a video camera detects lane markings and predicts the road’s curvature. When next the driver uses the same road again, the headlights adapt to the course of the road automatically. We expect this technology to be available for customers in the near term."

21 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. Umm by Psychotria · · Score: 3, Insightful

    [...] and uses GPS information for enhanced lighting when encountering bends and dips on a chosen route [...]

    What about those of use who are really looking at least 1 turn ahead of the current turn/bend/dip? Nobody who can actually drive is actually looking at the current turn, so why highlight it?

    1. Re:Umm by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nobody who can actually drive is actually looking at the current turn, so why highlight it?

      You should learn to drive before you lecture other people. Never outdrive your headlights. If that means you have to slow down to less than the posted speed limit, so be it. That's how you avoid driving over road obstacles at night, like rocks or animals. Now, in the future, watch where you're going.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Umm by Psychotria · · Score: 2

      You misunderstand what I am said. The current corner/dip/bend is always there but it's basically an extension of the NEXT bit of road which you should be looking at and anticipating. Yes, of course the current corner/dip/bend must be illuminated so that you can see what's there... but the headlights should not concentrate themselves on that corner/dip/bend because your mind has already processed pretty much all that there is to see; although your current reactions are fast-forwarding to what's coming next the current situation is, of course, always in your "peripheral vision" (I use that term because although it's not really a peripheral the term conveys what I am trying to say the most accurately). If the headlights decide to move, concentrate and highlight what you've already seen and moved on from then seeing and processing the next situation is compromised.

      Did I say that you should outdrive your headlights? No! That would be insanity. What I said (or meant) was that by moving the headlights point of highlight (which according to the admittedly lacking articles) is the current corner/dip/turn the driver's concentration moves from looking ahead to what is already a committed action.

    3. Re:Umm by rogoshen1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      it's okay to out drive your headlights, it's when you drive faster than your angel can fly that you run into troubles.

  2. Pass by AntronArgaiv · · Score: 2

    I'll stick with my regular headlights, thanks just the same, Ford. I can only speculate as to how many additional things could go wrong with "automatic traffic sign recognition". All I currently need to worry about is making sure the bulb isn;t burned out.

  3. Not for USA by genka · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This system is developed by the European Ford division. We are unlikely to see it in States anytime soon because of the ancient DOT headlights regulations that are not ready for the latest innovations. Mercedes Benz developed a similar system a while ago.

    1. Re:Not for USA by satch89450 · · Score: 2

      Remember the Tucker, with the swiveling center headlight?

    2. Re:Not for USA by sjames · · Score: 4, Informative

      Turns out TFA and TFS are wrong. Press release says 120m.

    3. Re:Not for USA by KGIII · · Score: 2

      I have this on my BMW which is three years old and a US-centric car. The limits that DOT applies are usually limited to width and lumens. Note that these are not the main headlights but are secondary spots.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  4. Re: older cars by galgon · · Score: 2

    Yes older cars are easier to maintain but the newer ones are outlasting them. Current average is almost 11 years before scrapping compared to under 7 in 1930. Sure you could fix the old cars up but with all that sheet metal rust was a major concern. I know old guys complain about the new plastic boxes on the roads these days but you hardly ever see rusted cars anymore. Besides in 10-15 years when you go to scrap your ford you can upgrade to a self driving car. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ji...

  5. It's even worse than I thought! by Psychotria · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The system spotlights hazards for the driver with a spot and a stripe on the road surface and highlighted objects are displayed on the screen inside the car

    So... the driver has to take their eyes off the road (where they should be looking) to look at the screen inside the car?

    “Many people who drive at night have had to quickly react to someone or something suddenly appearing in the road – as if from nowhere. Ford’s Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System and Spot Lighting help ensure the driver is quickly alerted to people or animals that could present a danger,” said Ken Washington, vice president, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.

    Yes, and you won't be able to do that when you're losing 500ms to 15 seconds of potential response time by looking at the screen in the car.

    1. Re:It's even worse than I thought! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 3, Informative

      Mirrors still allow one to use peripheral vision to keep a view of the road.

      Read the article. There's no requirement to stare at the screen. Which by the way, is showing a vew of the road. Even then the same peripheral vision can allow you to see the screen.

      But as I said, you never have to look at the screen. The smaller light under the main headlamps, swings over to illuminate whatever is on teh side of the road. Without you doing anything. You can preserve your highway hypnosis.

      People gotta try discarding this "It's new, so I hate it!" mentality Because it gets you to make knee jerk ractions that end up making you argue for not putting light on something you might run into.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    2. Re:It's even worse than I thought! by dinfinity · · Score: 5, Informative

      Did you even watch the video? Or the part of the summary you yourself fucking quoted?

      The system spotlights hazards for the driver with a spot and a stripe on the road surface and highlighted objects are displayed on the screen inside the car

      So no. The driver does not have to take his eyes off the road.
      This is extremely useful functionality, because it also highlights cyclists who often do not have adequate lighting and are thus a huge source for (death!)scares for many drivers, at least in the Netherlands.

      Please leave Slashdot and take your anti-new technology kneejerk reactions with you. That also goes for everybody who was stupid enough to mod you up.

  6. Don't need by ITRambo · · Score: 2

    I don't need a hackable headlight system. Also, what happens when driving through an area of road construction, something that happens all too often in the American Midwest. This idea may have some benefits that I don't recognize at the moment. But, for now it seems unnecessary and frivolous.

  7. Re:STOP! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Show us on the model car where the headlight touched you.

  8. Automotive-oriented headline I'd like to see... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 3, Insightful
    "Automotive industry stops trying to turn vehicles into living rooms and entertainment centers, and starts focusing upon the improvement of car system security."

    .
    But I doubt if I'll ever see that headline in my lifetime....

  9. Wait... It remembers? by webdog314 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "When next the driver uses the same road again, the headlights adapt to the course of the road automatically."

    Which means that it remembers everywhere we have driven. I don't think I like the sound of that.

  10. Re: older cars by Lumpy · · Score: 2

    that increase is not because of technology. It's because car makers are forced to do corrosion control on the body and important parts. I wish the feds forced the car makers to use stainless on the brake lines. #1 failure of any northern car is rusted brake lines because they use the cheapest soft steel they can get .

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  11. Re:Potholes by tomhath · · Score: 2

    In Philadelphia, the traffic reports would often mention backups caused by "Roving Pothole Crews". It's bad enough when you know where a pothole is, but when they take evasive action it gets really tough.

  12. Re: older cars by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    Yes older cars are easier to maintain

    Eh, hit and miss. The only thing that's provably more of a PITA today is actual auto body, and with the coming prevalence of aluminum that's going to be more of a thing and not less. The good news is that the Aluminum body is even more recyclable than the steel that cars are made out of now; it takes less energy to do so, and the resulting alloy is more similar to the original than with steel.

    People are complaining about having to hook a computer up to their engine... a computer that will tell them in detail what the engine is doing at any given time, including a freeze frame at the moment of any fault. And they complain that they can't do things they used to do, but there's so many things that they no longer have to do; my last car with a distributor had a keyed shaft and would only take it one way, and these days they don't even have them, nor wires 'twixt coil and plug.

    I'm happy to see Aluminum coming, I don't want to have to make any more rust repairs, that's why I bought an Aluminum car. But we're going to be totaling even more vehicles...

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. adaptive headlights by swell · · Score: 3, Informative

    Headlights that turn have been around a while. Citroen & BMW seem to have had them. The American car, Tucker, had many such innovations. BMW also had side lights that help in tight turns. Here are some links:

    1948 Tucker- great photos: http://www.laubly.com/1948tuck...
    How Adaptive Headlights Work: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/...
    1934 patent US1952346 A: https://www.google.com/patents...

    Interacting with a car or motorcycle on a country road or mountain curve can be a pleasure, a form of meditation sometimes. We will lose that as vehicles get smarter and more independent.

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...