I was invited last week by Claus Allgeier and Jenny Trommer to visit Osram in Herbrechtingen. There I had the opportunity to see and experience their Smartrix matrix lighting and to try out—after dark—their demonstrator car equipped with Eviyos units, an outcome of the European-funded µAFS program, as well as their µLARP laser high beam booster. These are some of the intelligent lighting solutions planned for progress as part of the impending joint venture Osram Continental, slated to come onstream later this year.
It is always a pleasant surprise to see in practical action the tremendous evolution of front lighting systems, and especially the benefits of digitalised full beams.
ADB was really a breakthrough when it was introduced a few years ago, and digitalisation is another step forward: all AFS modes and many other safety-boosting functionalities are realised with no mechanical movement—including adverse weather lighting, which was always difficult to accomplish without removing light, as well as ADB, spot marking light, and the ability to display information to the driver or the pedestrian.
Many premium cars are already on the road with matrix systems, but the real question—as it was for ADB—is how we convey this important technology to the mid-range cars. Do we really need 1,024 pixels as I was presented during the night drive, or should we introduce this technology with fewer pixels for the benefits of more road users? We should get the answer in the near future with more penetration rate in the lower segments. In the meantime, take a look at this week’s report on my visit to Osram; from any perspective, intriguing developments are pushing the evolution of the vehicle headlamp higher, better, and faster than ever before!
Sincerely yours
Jean-Paul Charret,
DVN Consultant
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