Safety Adaptive Lighting Provides Precise Patterns TIM MORAN AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE
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AN_suppl_051031_13-15.qxd 19.10.2005 19:25 Uhr Page 13 Safety Adaptive lighting provides precise patterns TIM MORAN AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE ver since lights were added Eto vehicles, it seems people have tried to find ways to make them swivel and focus to help drivers see their way. The problem with early attempts to “steer” headlights was the relatively low power of the beams, limitations of the sealed-beam headlamp designs that dominated the automotive sector from 1941 through 1983 and the difficulty of truly matching mechanical linkages to what the driver needed to see. Today, adaptive lighting offers a new start with a clean slate and effective technology. When the adaptive lighting system on the new Mercedes-Benz S class determines the driver is Choices, choices rounding a curve, it changes the angle of the headlight beam. Adaptive lighting systems divide into two broad categories. One uses additional bulbs housed Light my way in specially engineered reflectors Bright future transparent. By making one or within the headlight lens Primary suppliers of more thin sandwiched layers assembly to switch on extra adaptive lighting for dim mirrors react with the gel, a darker and lights. The other uses motors and ● Automotive Lighting darker filter can be placed over projector lenses to mechanically ● Denso he 2006 Citroen C6, the silvery reflective layer of pivot one or both headlamps. ● Hella TPSA/Peugeot-Citroen’s new the mirror. Think of an eyeball in a socket. ● Osram upper-medium car, carries The mirrors use a The systems can work with ● Philips external and internal rear-view complementary metal oxide either halogen bulbs or xenon ● II Stanley mirrors from US supplier semiconductor chip to sense high-intensity discharge bulbs. ● Valeo Sylvania Gentex Corp. that both ambient light levels In either case, adaptive automatically dim when bright forward of the car and bright ● Visteon lighting relies on a complex headlights hit them. light sources coming from reflector – the silver sculpted Internal auto-dimming behind the car, and sensor shape behind the bulbs – to Light Control and is standard mirrors are standard on the circuitry to communicate with provide precise lighting on the 2006 330i. car, while external dimming a digital microprocessor that patterns. The need to change mirrors will be an option on all does not need signal amplifiers the beam pattern is analyzed by Sensing a turn but top-of-the-line trim or other conversion circuitry to a computer program that takes The Audi A8 uses a fixed-bulb packages for the Citroen. do its job. Gentex calls the input from sensors including cornering system that is called It’s the first three-mirror solid-state device an Active speed, light level and steering Adaptive Light. The additional system to be supplied in Light Sensor. angle. When the adaptive bulb comes on when it senses France by the Zeeland, Gentex was the first lighting system determines the the driver making or signaling a Michigan, company. The company in the world to supply driver is rounding a curve, it turn at speeds up to 70kph. In outside dimming mirrors are automatic-dimming rear-view changes the headlight beam addition, the adaptive lights also available on the 2006 mirrors when its products angle to light the road surface come on to illuminate a tight Volkswagen Touareg and the came onto the market some farther along the curve. parking spot or driveway when Mercedes-Benz CLS class. 15 years ago. European cars are more the driver is backing the car. Gentex mirrors use Gentex dominates about likely than US cars to have Adaptive lighting has mostly proprietary electrochromic gel 80 percent of the market for motorized lighting, as European been limited to top-end luxury technology to dim automatic dimming mirrors; standards already demand cars with xenon projector bulb proportionally to the amount of competitor Magna Donnelly automatic-leveling headlamps. systems; the cost of motorized light detected. holds about 16 percent. Magna Mercedes-Benz offers active lighting could limit adoption in Donnelly refers to its lights with a cornering function. lower cost mass markets. Trade secret electrochromic mirror as solid The system uses a computer- Drivers need to experience While Gentex does not polymer matrix technology. controlled motor to move bi- adaptive lighting in order to discuss its trade secrets in According to press xenon headlights, in which a value it as a feature, but most detail, electrochromics typically materials, Gentex’s customers projector lens is used to give car sales do not include a night- use layers of polarizing material include Audi, Bentley, BMW, both low and high beams. time test drive. North American placed within a sandwich of Daimler-Chrysler, Fiat, BMW, meanwhile, adds inputs manufacturers, not required to glass plates. Ford, General Motors, from a lateral acceleration have self-leveling headlamps, Under normal Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, sensor (to measure the severity are unlikely to spend extra for circumstances, the material Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, of a turn’s G-force) and map motorized systems. Some remains clear, but when a mild Nissan, Opel, Renault- information from the onboard automakers may be waiting for electric current is passed Samsung, Rolls-Royce, navigation system to tailor its light-emitting diode front through it, the polarity is SsangYong, Toyota, similar active system. lighting before making expressed by making Volkswagen and Volvo. The system is called Adaptive significant lens changes. ANE translucent what was – Tim Moran October 31, 2005 Automotive News Europe 13 ◆ AN_suppl_051031_13-15.qxd 19.10.2005 19:26 Uhr Page 14 Safety TIRE-PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS nderinflation can cause wear on tires, Uwhich can lead to poor fuel economy and, in worst cases, accidents. A tire- pressure monitoring system offers a way to increase tire safety and add value to the vehicle at a relatively small cost. Following the tire tread separation on Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone tires, American lawmakers mandated automakers include tire-pressure monitoring systems on vehicles sold in the US. Beginning September 1, 2007, all new four-wheel passenger vehicles must be equipped with a system that warns the driver when any one tire falls below 25 percent of its recommended inflation rate. There is no similar rule in Europe, but automakers in the region have adopted the technology for premium vehicles as well as for cars they sell in the US market. “We don’t expect TPMS to become mandatory any time soon in Europe. Nevertheless, the product is getting more and more important as a Third-generation tire-pressure monitoring systems also measure tire temperature. voluntary additional feature,” Beru spokeswoman Monika Schmierer said. WHERE TO FIND IT often. Some sensor suppliers are Millions of vehicles in both Europe and North developing battery-less technology that will HOW IT WORKS America already feature tire-pressure make tire-pressure monitoring systems An electronic sensor is attached to the monitoring systems. They are still mainly found smaller and lighter. inner end of the valve stem or mounted to in premium models, but in two years will be in all Sensors also can be damaged during tire the wheel. The sensor transmits a low- new cars sold in the US. repair or tire installation. power radio signal to a central control unit that sets off the warning light when the OBSTACLES PRIMARY SUPPLIERS pressure reading drops below a designated The environment inside the tire is harsh Beru, Michelin, Continental Teves, trigger point. Third-generation systems also on electronics. Johnson Controls, Schrader-Bridgeport, can measure tire temperature and register A lasting power source is needed and Pacific Industrial, TRW Automotive, IQ Mobil, that information for the driver as well as batteries are not the best solution because SmarTire, Rayovac and Fleet Specialties Co. provide a more accurate pressure reading. they need to be maintained and replaced – Alex Ricciuti RUN-FLAT TIRES The tire-pressure monitor (lower left), he main safety feature of run- and the support ring, Tflat tires is that they are which is made of designed to prevent a driver polyurethane from losing control when a tire and rubber, loses pressure, especially at high add about 1kg speeds. Equally important is that to the weight a driver can continue traveling of the tire. on a punctured run-flat tire for up to 200km at a maximum speed of 80kph before repairing the tire. Another advantage of run-flat tires is that they also eliminate the need for a spare tire creating more trunk space in the vehicle and reducing weight. Punctures don’t stop run-flat HOW IT WORKS tires like this one because the There are two types of run- WHERE TO FIND IT OBSTACLES support ring is strong enough flat tires: auxiliary support or The solution is still limited Costs, weight and ride quality to support the car’s weight. self-support. Auxiliary support to premium brands with are the main issues. Run-flat tires have a structure inside the notable exceptions being the tires are more expensive than European countries require tire that can support the weight Honda Odyssey and the Toyota regular tires, especially when cars to carry a spare tire of the car when the tire deflates. Sienna in the US. Nearly all combined with tire-pressure regardless of run-flat Self-supporting tires have highly BMW models, including the monitoring systems, because of technology which eliminates reinforced sidewalls that can Mini Cooper, are equipped with the added maintenance costs. any potential space advantage. support the weight of the run-flats. The tires are The added weight inside each vehicle. Both systems make available in the Audi A4, A6 tire, about a kilogram, creates a PRIMARY SUPPLIERS sure a vehicle maintains and A8 ranges.