Laser, Lidar Is the Way Forward for Automotive Vision

Globally, more than one million vehicle-related fatal accidents take place every year, along with more than 20 mn crash-related injuries. Costs for this mayhem are estimated to be more than ` 200 lakh crore – a sum that’s hard to even comprehend for most people. Of the many initiatives being undertaken by car manufacturers to wards trying to enhance safety, and reduce the number of accidents that happen worldwide every year, one important initiative is increasing night-time visibility for drivers. Automotive lighting systems have already witnessed significant advancements over the last two to three decades, and further development continues relentlessly. We take a look at some cutting-edge developments in this space.

- Sameer Kumar

 LIGHTING EVOLUTION

Automotive lighting started with carbide acetylene lamps in the late-1880s, moving to full electric lighting in the early-1900s. Sealed beam headlamps (the kind used today), with a lighting filament, parabolic reflector and a lens sealed together came in the late-1930s, while the much brighter halogen headlamps started appearing on some European cars by the early-1960s. The next big move came about in the early-2000s, when high-intensity discharge (HID) Xenon lamps were introduced on some high-end cars. Xenon/HID lamps produced light by creating an electrical arc between two metal electrodes, through an inert gas, inside a glass bulb. Much more efficient than traditional bulbs, HIDs created brighter, more intense ‘white’ light while consuming relatively lower amount of power. These were also physically smaller, providing more design flexibility to car manufacturers in terms of shaping a car’s headlamps. However, there were issues with HID lamps ‘dazzling’ oncoming traffic due to their intense light getting ‘scattered’ by traditional light assemblies, and manufacturers started looking for better solutions.

One solution, which is now finding widespread use not just in higher-end cars but also on relatively cheaper vehicles, is light-emitting diodes (LEDs), with the Audi A8 being the first production car to have LED daytime running lights (DRLs). While LEDs were initially used only in DRLs, costs have come down over the last five years and many OEMs are now increasingly opting for full-LED illumination on their cars. In fact, the 2007 Audi R8 was the first production car to use full LED illumination, with the Mercedes-Benz CLS following suit.