Because HID lights arenāt annoying enough.
The first feature in the presentation seems to be addressing that problem with HIDs, at least the high beams. The laser projections, thoughā¦ Keep that stuff on a HUD, no one else needs to see it.
The ācan I pass that logging truck in this construction zone narrowed lane at highway speeds?ā feature is a tremendously bad idea. I donāt care what your fancy car computer says, the answer is NO.
Looks like someoneās been reading about AESA radar.
Some cool stuff, especially the detecting oncoming cars and excluding them from the brights, but the info was ridiculously diluted by the boring atmospheric bullshit.
The targeting pedestrians part gives me mixed feelings though. It is nice for both parties to know about each other. But Iām not sure pedestrians like being blinded any more than other drivers.
Iād rather see the technology go the other direction, where low light infrared sensors built into the car project digitally enhanced images onto the inside of the windshield based on the drivers head location, that technology could outline other vehicles, animals, and people, without adding more light to the road, would even enhance city driving unlike this concept, and would work in fog and snow where highbeams actually reduce visibility. It could also overlay helpful information such as directions, highlight exits for nav assistance, mark gas stations and other amenities when desired, count off distances to approaching objects, etc. It would revolutionize driving, unlike this which i think would be sketchy at best when lots of drivers in cities get them, i donāt see this scaling or adapting well.
Also was that a giraffe or horse they passed/zapped? 
The real advancement would be proximity sensor in the rear of the car that spells out āF**K YOU TAILGATOR!!ā with the rear oleds if the driver behind you get too close! lol.
Interesting concept but awful, awful marketing. Almost Zoolander-esque in its hideousness.
And Preston Tucker is looking down and saying, āI told you so.ā
Werenāt we just recently reading about how advanced headlight systems like this arenāt legal in the US due to regulations that specify headlamps may only have a low-beam and a high-beam?
Pro: Lasers donāt blind other drivers
Con: Lasers deliberately blind pedestrians and large animals.
Iām wondering how the headlights feel about cyclists, are they excluded from the light or extra illuminated?
Nope. The laser beams are passed through a phosphorous lens which blends and diffuses the light, and makes it safe for eyes. So what comes out, looks like a conventional beam of light, instead of a a laser pointer.
I realize that but at night focusing a bright beam of light on a person is āblindingā in the sense that they are unable to see until their pupils dilate.
Itās cool, itās not like theyāre going to get disoriented when standing next to a roadway or anything.
I would so love to shine bright ass lasers right in the eyes of night time tail gaters. I mean, viscerally itās a satisfying idea. I know itād be stupid to blind someone who thinks itās a good idea to follow you at a meter or closer in the middle of the night going 60mph.
Thatās going to last fifteen minutes. Then the same assholes who install HIDs on their commuter cars are going to turn off the auto dim so as to achieve maximal brightness, and everyone will be blinded by their 200 meter spotlight beams during both the night and the day. Because theyāre assholes who either donāt realize that using insanely bright headlights makes the road less safe, or because they donāt care that their headlights are making everyone around them night-blind.
I cycle home at night, and the oncoming jerks hi-beam their headlights to blind me. At least this system would mean they have both hands on the wheel.
This is kind of cool, although Iām not a big fan of the idea of spotlighting pedestrians and other ānon-carā objects. I get the impression if youāre not in another motor vehicle this car would just dazzle you more, not less.
This might be helpful, especially when a pedestrian or a car comes out of nowhere. But as long as thereās always an easy manual switch.
