car will include smart headlights
It's possible that your next car will include smart headlights.
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a final judgment allowing automakers to install adaptive driving beams in vehicles in the United States.
"This document alters NHTSA's lighting standard to facilitate the certification of adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlamps," the NHTSA noted in the ruling. ADB headlamps employ technology that actively changes a vehicle's headlamp beams to deliver increased illumination while avoiding glare. The requirements agreed today aim to update the lighting standard to allow for this technology and to establish performance requirements for these systems to ensure that they function safely."
In the United States, automobiles were required to have binary lights that alternated between high and low beams. Adaptive Driving Beams, which are now allowed, have a number of settings that may adjust to different driving circumstances depending on the situation.
These newer headlights include automated beamforming, which is controlled by a computer and directs light in various directions. They might be able to cast brighter lights in front of the automobile while dimming them on the sides to avoid blinding oncoming cars.
The NHTSA wanted to make sure that smart headlights wouldn't be brighter than present lower beams, which was a major stumbling block in getting them certified. Adaptive Driving Beams appear to be better at avoiding blinding oncoming drivers after testing, leading to their approval.
It will be some time before we see cars with these headlights on the road in the United States, but it is an excellent step in the right direction.