Just after our Marelli Automotive Lighting & Sensing visit, we did a night drive test with Gerd and Marelli team and tested 2 vehicles. As a lighting engineer, I really like a night drive. It has always been part of my job. And especially this Forest country road next to Reutlingen.
It reminds me of memorable tests I did more than 15 years ago with Michael Hamm, Kamislav Fadel, and Gerd during their time at Marelli (And Elo Rosenhahn, still driving the car and explaining the lighting content), testing the world-first full-LED lamps on the Audi R8.
We drove a demo-car with a 16-segment matrix system compliant with the U.S. FMVSS 108 ADB specifications, and a VW Touareg with MicroLED headlamp equipped with one HD module and a Bi-Matrix e-Light module.
Our impressions, particularly of the Touareg:
- Very wide high beam thanks to e-light module performance. High beam width covers the full driver field of view. No longer does one feel confined in a rectangular box made of light.
- Very narrow glare-free zone around the preceding car. This is the great advantage of the HD technology with very high resolution.
- Interesting carpet light on the motorway, focusing the driver’s attention on the road.
- Amazing welcome sequence done with the HD pixelization capabilities.
Here are some videos we’ve prepared for you; come and ride along with us on the night drive: