• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Electrical Engineering News and Products

Electronics Engineering Resources, Articles, Forums, Tear Down Videos and Technical Electronics How-To's

  • Products / Components
    • Analog ICs
    • Battery Power
    • Connectors
    • Microcontrollers
    • Power Electronics
    • Sensors
    • Test and Measurement
    • Wire / Cable
  • Applications
    • 5G
    • Automotive/Transportation
    • EV Engineering
    • Industrial
    • IoT
    • Medical
    • Telecommunications
    • Wearables
    • Wireless
  • Learn
    • eBooks / Handbooks
    • EE Training Days
    • Tutorials
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Webinars & Digital Events
  • Resources
    • White Papers
    • Educational Assets
    • Design Guide Library
    • Digital Issues
    • Engineering Diversity & Inclusion
    • LEAP Awards
    • Podcasts
    • DesignFast
  • Videos
    • EE Videos and Interviews
    • Teardown Videos
  • EE Forums
    • EDABoard.com
    • Electro-Tech-Online.com
  • Bill’s Blogs
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Carnegie Mellon’s smart headlight system will have drivers seeing through the rain

July 10, 2012 By EurekAlert

PITTSBURGH—Drivers can struggle to see when driving at night in a rainstorm or snowstorm, but a smart headlight system invented by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute can improve visibility by constantly redirecting light to shine between particles of precipitation.

The system, demonstrated in laboratory tests, prevents the distracting and sometimes dangerous glare that occurs when headlight beams are reflected by precipitation back toward the driver.

“If you’re driving in a thunderstorm, the smart headlights will make it seem like it’s a drizzle,” said Srinivasa Narasimhan, associate professor of robotics.

The system uses a camera to track the motion of raindrops and snowflakes and then applies a computer algorithm to predict where those particles will be just a few milliseconds later. The light projection system then adjusts to deactivate light beams that would otherwise illuminate the particles in their predicted positions.

“A human eye will not be able to see that flicker of the headlights,” Narasimhan said. “And because the precipitation particles aren’t being illuminated, the driver won’t see the rain or snow either.”

To people, rain can appear as elongated streaks that seem to fill the air. To high-speed cameras, however, rain consists of sparsely spaced, discrete drops. That leaves plenty of space between the drops where light can be effectively distributed if the system can respond rapidly, Narasimhan said.

In their lab tests, Narasimhan and his research team demonstrated that their system could detect raindrops, predict their movement and adjust a light projector accordingly in 13 milliseconds. At low speeds, such a system could eliminate 70 to 80 percent of visible rain during a heavy storm, while losing only 5 or 6 percent of the light from the headlamp.

To operate at highway speeds and to work effectively in snow and hail, the system’s response will need to be reduced to just a few milliseconds, Narasimhan said. The lab tests have demonstrated the feasibility of the system, however, and the researchers are confident that the speed of the system can be boosted.

The test apparatus, for instance, couples a camera with an off-the-shelf DLP projector. Road-worthy systems likely would be based on arrays of light-emitting diode (LED) light sources in which individual elements could be turned on or off, depending on the location of raindrops. New LED technology could make it possible to combine LED light sources with image sensors on a single chip, enabling high-speed operation at low cost.

Narasimhan’s team is now engineering a more compact version of the smart headlight that in coming years could be installed in a car for road testing.

Though a smart headlight system will never be able to eliminate all precipitation from the driver’s field of view, simply reducing the amount of reflection and distortion caused by precipitation can substantially improve visibility and reduce driver distraction. Another benefit is that the system also can detect oncoming cars and direct the headlight beams away from the eyes of those drivers, eliminating the need to shift from high to low beams.

“One good thing is that the system will not fail in a catastrophic way,” Narasimhan said. “If it fails, it is just a normal headlight.”

Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/cmu-cms070912.php

You Might Also Like

Filed Under: Automotive/Transportation, Displays

Primary Sidebar

EE Engineering Training Days

engineering

Featured Contributions

Integrating MEMS technology into next-gen vehicle safety features

Five challenges for developing next-generation ADAS and autonomous vehicles

Robust design for Variable Frequency Drives and starters

Meeting demand for hidden wearables via Schottky rectifiers

GaN reliability milestones break through the silicon ceiling

More Featured Contributions

EE Tech Toolbox

“ee
Tech Toolbox: 5G Technology
This Tech Toolbox covers the basics of 5G technology plus a story about how engineers designed and built a prototype DSL router mostly from old cellphone parts. Download this first 5G/wired/wireless communications Tech Toolbox to learn more!

EE Learning Center

EE Learning Center
“ee
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for EE professionals.
“bills
contribute

R&D World Podcasts

R&D 100 Episode 10
See More >

Sponsored Content

Designing for Serviceability: The Role of Interconnects in HVAC Maintenance

From Control Boards to Comfort: How Signal Integrity Drives HVAC Innovation

Built to Withstand: Sealing and Thermal Protection in HVAC Sub-Systems

Revolutionizing Manufacturing with Smart Factories

Smarter HVAC Starts at the Sub-System Level

Empowering aerospace E/E design and innovation through Siemens Xcelerator and Capital in the Cloud

More Sponsored Content >>

RSS Current EDABoard.com discussions

  • connector model question
  • Sendust vs Ferrite for SMPS
  • sim7090g
  • Innovus Scan Reorder deletes Scan In Pad
  • The GaN revolution must now happen?

RSS Current Electro-Tech-Online.com Discussions

  • It's Amazing What A Buck And A Quarter....
  • Microinverters and storeage batteries?
  • ac current limiting
  • More fun with ws2812 this time XC8 and CLC
  • Impact of Tariffs on PCB Fab
Search Millions of Parts from Thousands of Suppliers.

Search Now!
design fast globle

Footer

EE World Online

EE WORLD ONLINE NETWORK

  • 5G Technology World
  • Analog IC Tips
  • Battery Power Tips
  • Connector Tips
  • DesignFast
  • EDABoard Forums
  • Electro-Tech-Online Forums
  • Engineer's Garage
  • EV Engineering
  • Microcontroller Tips
  • Power Electronic Tips
  • Sensor Tips
  • Test and Measurement Tips

EE WORLD ONLINE

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Teardown Videos
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us
  • About Us

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy