General Motors Subsidiary Developing Headlamps That Shine Where You Look

General Motors European subsidiary, Opel is developing a new type of head lamps that tracks the movement of your eyes and then shines in the direction you are looking at. The head lamps have a set range but the new feature will be part of Opel's adaptive head lamps in the near future.

The system has been under development for almost two years and relies on a highly-accurate camera that reads the driver's face more than 50 times per second. The camera scans prominent points, such as the nose and eyes, to detect movement and thereby the driver's line of vision.

This information is then translated and the information is gathered into data commands for electronically-controlled actuators, which instantly align the vehicle's head lamps. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. The biggest hurdle was adjusting to the driver's eyes as they will jump from one focal point to another and it would have been a challenge to follow this movement precisely.

The solution was a sophisticated delay algorithm which ensures a natural movement for the light path. Should the driver not be looking at the road, the head lamps will remain on, pointing in the direction of the vehicle. The system has been designed to work with anyone behind the wheel without any calibration, so no matter what the size of the person, the system will work.

There is no word on when this new form of adaptive head lamp system will be launched but Opel has made it clear that they are looking at a plan to introduce this system in less than 18 months' time.