Ford predictive smart headlights (left) provide better visibility at night
Photo: Ford
Ford’s all about looking ahead of the curve, whether it’s investing $22 million in electrified vehicles or launching its BlueCruise hands-free driving technology. When it comes to headlights, Ford is also literally and figuratively trying to get ahead of the curve by trialing new predictive smart headlights.
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Engineers with Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering unit in Europe are in the process of testing a new technology that uses GPS data to predict what and where to light on the road ahead. GPS data and up-to-date road geometry are fed into the system, allowing a vehicle to guess where the light will need to go. This will ideally help drivers see around bends and curves at night and in low-light situations.
In areas where there’s not enough data, the system uses cameras and steering-based dynamic headlight bending to adapt on the fly. The system takes into account factors like trajectory and vehicle speed to ensure the best illumination possible.
How Ford predictive smart headlights work
“The predictive lighting technology we are developing now means that one day driving in the dark could be as simple as just following your headlights,” said Ford of Europe lighting research engineer Michael Koherr. “This new map- and location‑based system is the next step on our quest to make driving at night no more difficult or stressful as during the day.”
Ford’s pushing all its chips in when it comes to innovative safety technologies. If trials are successful, predictive smart headlights could be one of the next features to join the ever-expanding Ford Co-Pilot360 suite of driver-assistive technologies. Later this year, Ford launches BlueCruise, its long-awaited hands-free driving technology, for the all-new F-150 and Mustang Mach-E.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.
