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Automotive Computer Safety Technology Everyone is familiar with the spiraling technology of personal computers. I thought that it might be interesting to investigate how advances in computer technology are impacting the automotive sector. Electronic emissions and air/fuel control have been standard in every vehicle manufactured for about the last 9 years. One emerging area of automotive computer technology is vehicle safety. The following four examples from Road and Track magazine show how computer technology is being developed to improve vehicle safety in the immediate future. Three of the examples are still in the concept stage while one is almost fully developed. Adaptive Light ControlOver the last few decades, the solution to improving night driving vision has been to develop brighter and brighter headlights. This creates another serious problem in form of headlight glare. Computer driven ‘smart’ headlight systems are currently under development from headlamp manufacturers Bosch, Valeo and Hella.
With the Bosch system, the high/low-beam system is replaced by a cluster of seven small lamps, each with its own unique reflector and aim. By powering different combinations of lamps, a wide variety of lighting patterns can be created, including asymmetrical patterns for cornering. The Valeo system accomplishes the same thing using moveable lenses that surround high/low-beam lamps, while the Hella system uses a reflector that swivels from side to side.
The computer comes into play in deciding what lighting pattern is appropriate for the current driving conditions. Using sensors which detect vehicle speed, steering angle and vehicle proximity, the computer ‘brain’ of the system can decide on which lighting to use.
In the future, the systems will be able to use GPS input and road knowledge to adjust the lights based on your current geographical location. For example, if the computer determines that you are on a busy city street with heavy pedestrian traffic, it will program a short but wide pattern to illuminate pedestrians on the adjacent sidewalks. If you are on a dark country road a long range bright pattern will be selected. (At least until the computer senses an oncoming vehicle and dims the lights accordingly…) The computer will also automatically swivel or adjust the lighting pattern based on an upcoming corner.
Night VisionNo matter how clever the lighting system is, it can’t help you see what is beyond the range of the light beams. This is where night vision technology comes in. This system developed for the 2000 Cadillac De Ville is comprised of an infrared sensor, and a black and white ‘heads-up’ display on the lower section of the windshield.
The sensor is electrically heated to prevent snow and ice build up, and located behind the grille, where it can be cleaned by a car wash. It detects the heat signature of objects at up to twice the distance of the high beams. The technology used is derived from that used for nighttime assaults during the Gulf War Crisis.
The display is optimally placed to not intrude on normal vision through the windshield. The presence of objects sensed will appear as a ‘ghost-like’ image in your peripheral vision. The display is also located in the position that your eyes will most likely focus if you are blinded by oncoming headlights.
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What do you think of having "The TXT" on-line? E-mail Bob Pajot
E-mail me at
webeditor@wpcug.com