This is about car headlights in Europe.

In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
still maintaining bright light elsewhere.

An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.

Have our European correspondents seen this in action?

More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
might not detect them and consequently blind them.

Any experience out there?

--
- Frank Krygowski

Am 09.11.2021 um 17:16 schrieb Frank Krygowski:
> This is about car headlights in Europe.
>
> In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
> Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
> dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
> still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
>
> An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
> claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
>
> Have our European correspondents seen this in action?

As I'm just looking to get a new electric car, I have been able to test
drive this in action, on a Nissan LEAF, VW ID3 and Hyundai Kona Electric
(all three only in the more expensive variety with LED matrix
headlights). The test was sufficiently impressive that I will not get a
new car without it.

> More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
> might not detect them and consequently blind them.
>
> Any experience out there?

In town (when there's ambient street lighting) it will atuomatically
take low beam, so the only open point is an oncoming pedestrian/cyclist
out of town.

I might be able to tell you more in six months time. Given that the
'adaptive speed control' is tuned to follow a cyclist at constant speed
if required (in one of my test drives, there was a 15 mph cyclist ahead
of me in a 20 mph area), I would not expect any problem with on-street
cyclists. The interesting challenge is a cyclist on a seperated
bidirectional bike lane (or pedestrian on a sidewalk).

Rolf

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 8:30:40 AM UTC-8, Rolf Mantel wrote:
> Am 09.11.2021 um 17:16 schrieb Frank Krygowski:
> > This is about car headlights in Europe.
> >
> > In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
> > Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
> > dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
> > still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
> >
> > An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
> > claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
> >
> > Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
> As I'm just looking to get a new electric car, I have been able to test
> drive this in action, on a Nissan LEAF, VW ID3 and Hyundai Kona Electric
> (all three only in the more expensive variety with LED matrix
> headlights). The test was sufficiently impressive that I will not get a
> new car without it.
> > More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
> > might not detect them and consequently blind them.
> >
> > Any experience out there?
> In town (when there's ambient street lighting) it will atuomatically
> take low beam, so the only open point is an oncoming pedestrian/cyclist
> out of town.
>
> I might be able to tell you more in six months time. Given that the
> 'adaptive speed control' is tuned to follow a cyclist at constant speed
> if required (in one of my test drives, there was a 15 mph cyclist ahead
> of me in a 20 mph area), I would not expect any problem with on-street
> cyclists. The interesting challenge is a cyclist on a seperated
> bidirectional bike lane (or pedestrian on a sidewalk).

I would be interested in a long term assessment of an electric car. Initially it will seem a good buy since it will have a fresh battery and the cost of electricity will be below that of gasoline for awhile. But with a reduction of the use of gasoline and the increased cost of generating large amounts of electricity that will soon lose it's shine. In daily use I would expect you to rapidly discover that battery life isn't anything like you expected it to be unless you're only charging to 80% of a full charge. And since the replacement cost of a battery is about half of the cost of the car I would expect trade-in value to be close to zero.

There are many advantages to an electric vehicle in heavily populated cities. But I expect people to learn that value is in the eye of the beholder.

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 5:16:56 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> This is about car headlights in Europe.
>
> In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
> Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
> dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
> still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
>
> An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
> claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
>
> Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
>
> More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
> might not detect them and consequently blind them.
>
> Any experience out there?
>
> --
> - Frank Krygowski

My high beam works like that. I don’t use my high beam that often, but it seems to work.

Lou

On 11/9/2021 12:24 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 5:16:56 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>> This is about car headlights in Europe.
>>
>> In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
>> Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
>> dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
>> still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
>>
>> An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
>> claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
>>
>> Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
>>
>> More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
>> might not detect them and consequently blind them.
>>
>> Any experience out there?
>>
>> --
>> - Frank Krygowski
>
> My high beam works like that. I don’t use my high beam that often, but it seems to work.

What's your experience riding (or walking) toward a car that has that
feature?

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 6:41:17 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 11/9/2021 12:24 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> > On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 5:16:56 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >> This is about car headlights in Europe.
> >>
> >> In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
> >> Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
> >> dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
> >> still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
> >>
> >> An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
> >> claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
> >>
> >> Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
> >>
> >> More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
> >> might not detect them and consequently blind them.
> >>
> >> Any experience out there?
> >>
> >> --
> >> - Frank Krygowski
> >
> > My high beam works like that. I don’t use my high beam that often, but it seems to work.
> What's your experience riding (or walking) toward a car that has that
> feature?
>
>
> --
> - Frank Krygowski

To be honest I have no idea. I don’t pay that much attention. What I notice in my car is that I can set my high beam on automatic and no one complains to be blinded by me.

Lou

On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 11:16:52 -0500, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>This is about car headlights in Europe.
>
>In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
>Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
>dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
>still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
>
>An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
>claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
>
>Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
>
>More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
>might not detect them and consequently blind them.
>
>Any experience out there?

Cadillac and maybe other GM cars had an automatic headlight dimming
system back in the 1950's.

It worked by detecting light from an approaching auto and probably
would not have detected an approaching bicycle unless the bicycle had
an unusually bright light.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:43:33 PM UTC+1, John B. wrote:
> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 11:16:52 -0500, Frank Krygowski
> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> >This is about car headlights in Europe.
> >
> >In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
> >Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
> >dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
> >still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
> >
> >An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
> >claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
> >
> >Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
> >
> >More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
> >might not detect them and consequently blind them.
> >
> >Any experience out there?
> Cadillac and maybe other GM cars had an automatic headlight dimming
> system back in the 1950's.
>
> It worked by detecting light from an approaching auto and probably
> would not have detected an approaching bicycle unless the bicycle had
> an unusually bright light.
> --
> Cheers,
>
> John B.

This is different. Only part of the high beam is dimmed. Detection by radar, ultrasoon sensors and a camera and probably a lot of software.

Lou

On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 14:53:19 -0800 (PST), Lou Holtman
<lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:43:33 PM UTC+1, John B. wrote:
>> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 11:16:52 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>> >This is about car headlights in Europe.
>> >
>> >In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
>> >Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
>> >dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
>> >still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
>> >
>> >An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
>> >claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
>> >
>> >Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
>> >
>> >More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
>> >might not detect them and consequently blind them.
>> >
>> >Any experience out there?
>> Cadillac and maybe other GM cars had an automatic headlight dimming
>> system back in the 1950's.
>>
>> It worked by detecting light from an approaching auto and probably
>> would not have detected an approaching bicycle unless the bicycle had
>> an unusually bright light.
>> --
>> Cheers,
>>
>> John B.
>
>This is different. Only part of the high beam is dimmed. Detection by radar, ultrasoon sensors and a camera and probably a lot of software.
>
>Lou

That first part doesn't make any sense. "Only part of the high beam"?
How is this different from the High/Low beam lights currently i use?
--
Cheers,

John B.

John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 14:53:19 -0800 (PST), Lou Holtman
> <lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:43:33 PM UTC+1, John B. wrote:
>>> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 11:16:52 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>>> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> This is about car headlights in Europe.
>>>>
>>>> In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
>>>> Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
>>>> dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
>>>> still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
>>>>
>>>> An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
>>>> claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
>>>>
>>>> Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
>>>>
>>>> More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
>>>> might not detect them and consequently blind them.
>>>>
>>>> Any experience out there?
>>> Cadillac and maybe other GM cars had an automatic headlight dimming
>>> system back in the 1950's.
>>>
>>> It worked by detecting light from an approaching auto and probably
>>> would not have detected an approaching bicycle unless the bicycle had
>>> an unusually bright light.
>>> --
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> John B.
>>
>> This is different. Only part of the high beam is dimmed. Detection by
>> radar, ultrasoon sensors and a camera and probably a lot of software.
>>
>> Lou
>
> That first part doesn't make any sense. "Only part of the high beam"?
> How is this different from the High/Low beam lights currently i use?

Think of the digital projectors that you can connect to your laptop. By
changing the “picture” that you are projecting, you can change the pattern
on the go. If the system also contains a camera, you can punch holes in the
pattern to avoid blinding oncoming traffic or place more light where the
camera sees something that the driver needs to pay attention to.

Ralph Barone <ralph@invalid.com> wrote:
> John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 14:53:19 -0800 (PST), Lou Holtman
>> <lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:43:33 PM UTC+1, John B. wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 11:16:52 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>>>> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> This is about car headlights in Europe.
>>>>>
>>>>> In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
>>>>> Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
>>>>> dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
>>>>> still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
>>>>>
>>>>> An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
>>>>> claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
>>>>>
>>>>> Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
>>>>>
>>>>> More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
>>>>> might not detect them and consequently blind them.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any experience out there?
>>>> Cadillac and maybe other GM cars had an automatic headlight dimming
>>>> system back in the 1950's.
>>>>
>>>> It worked by detecting light from an approaching auto and probably
>>>> would not have detected an approaching bicycle unless the bicycle had
>>>> an unusually bright light.
>>>> --
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> John B.
>>>
>>> This is different. Only part of the high beam is dimmed. Detection by
>>> radar, ultrasoon sensors and a camera and probably a lot of software.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>
>> That first part doesn't make any sense. "Only part of the high beam"?
>> How is this different from the High/Low beam lights currently i use?
>
> Think of the digital projectors that you can connect to your laptop. By
> changing the “picture” that you are projecting, you can change the pattern
> on the go. If the system also contains a camera, you can punch holes in the
> pattern to avoid blinding oncoming traffic or place more light where the
> camera sees something that the driver needs to pay attention to.
>
>
Read this.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/amp/smart-headlights-make-driving-with-high-beams-safer-2650271551

On Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 2:29:20 AM UTC+1, John B. wrote:
> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 14:53:19 -0800 (PST), Lou Holtman
> <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:43:33 PM UTC+1, John B. wrote:
> >> On Tue, 9 Nov 2021 11:16:52 -0500, Frank Krygowski
> >> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> >This is about car headlights in Europe.
> >> >
> >> >In the past, I've read about upcoming technology for motor vehicles:
> >> >Adaptive headlights, some laser-based, that detect oncoming vehicles and
> >> >dim that part of the beam that would blind an oncoming driver, while
> >> >still maintaining bright light elsewhere.
> >> >
> >> >An article I read today was bemoaning U.S. car headlight technology, and
> >> >claimed that this new technology is now available in Europe.
> >> >
> >> >Have our European correspondents seen this in action?
> >> >
> >> >More important, how does it work for bicyclists and pedestrians? ISTM it
> >> >might not detect them and consequently blind them.
> >> >
> >> >Any experience out there?
> >> Cadillac and maybe other GM cars had an automatic headlight dimming
> >> system back in the 1950's.
> >>
> >> It worked by detecting light from an approaching auto and probably
> >> would not have detected an approaching bicycle unless the bicycle had
> >> an unusually bright light.
> >> --
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> John B.
> >
> >This is different. Only part of the high beam is dimmed. Detection by radar, ultrasoon sensors and a camera and probably a lot of software.
> >
> >Lou
> That first part doesn't make any sense. "Only part of the high beam"?
> How is this different from the High/Low beam lights currently i use?
> --
> Cheers,
>
> John B.

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

Lou