Headlights that warn for slippery roads, show distances and warn for pedestrians. At the Geneva car show, Mercedes reveals their its new headlights.
In recent years, car headlights have really become the manufacturers’ signum. BMW’s Angel eyes and the Volvo S90 luxury sedan’s Thor’s Hammer are two examples of clever design tricks that informs you what’s going around you.
But it is not just the design that is being developed. More and more features are being incorporated into headlights.
Audi and Opel have intelligent technology that dims the lights in those directions where they risk dazzling other drivers.
Mercedes’s latest news, however, goes beyond that and takes headlight design a step further in turning the actual projected light into visual assistance.
The manufacturer calls their new design for Digital lights and the radical idea if for the headlights to not only radiate light – but also project images.
So what does the system do? The car’s cameras and sensors can detect other road users and, with the help of GPS, digital maps, and powerful computers, determine how to best distribute the light.
But this is only half the trick. The headlamps can also project symbols on the road – and provide the driver with easy-to-understand information without distracting the driver’s attention.
For example, if the car detects that you are driving through a road working area – the headlights display lines that will help guide the driver. Another example is that if the sensors detect a pedestrian near the road, the headlights will display an arrow.
Furthermore, the headlights can alert you to slippery road conditions, roadwork and if you are on your way to a meeting file.
The first model equipped with the system will be the luxury model Mercedes-Maybach S-Klass. The new headlights are jet another technology added to a model packed with technology.
The select customers who buy these cars can expect delivery sometime within the first half of this year. The number of cars with these headlights will be limited, but eventually, this technology should roll out to other cars.
