smart-headlightsDriving at night can be pleasant due to the cool temperatures and the lack of glare from the sun, but there is another issue to combat – the possibility of falling asleep at the wheel, not to mention the glare of headlights from the opposite direction as sometimes, the drivers on the other side forget to turn off their high beam. Well, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh claimed to have come up with what they call “smart headlights” which will be able to offer bright illumination of the road ahead without causing any kind of glare to motorists in oncoming vehicles.

Of course, these headlights are not finalized yet in their development, as they still remain experimental. How then, do they work? Well, they start by tracking any oncoming vehicles in the vicinity, before instantaneously dimming only the specific rays of light which would otherwise end up in the eyes of the oncoming motorists.

Dr. Srinivasa Narasimhan shared, “With our programmable system, we can actually make headlights that are even brighter than today’s without causing distractions for other drivers on the road. We can do all this and more with the same headlight”

This is an advancement that is worth applauding. Not only that, the headlights do more than to just reduce headlight glare, as it is also capable of blocking out rays of light which will reflect off snowflakes and raindrops, helping enhance a motorist’s vision whenever one drives at moderate speed at night – whether in snowy conditions, or when it pours. When will such technology make it to existing cars? Perhaps three to five years’ time.

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