Networked lighting to eliminate auto blind spots

It is a horror scenario for every driver: Suddenly, a previously invisible pedestrian comes out of the dark between two street lights or the shade of two parked cars. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are working on a method to optimally adapt car headlights to local conditions.

When lighting conditions blur the contrast between an object and its surroundings, experts refer to it as the "camouflage effect." The human eye cannot perceive the object under these conditions. The same applies to camera eyes of autonomous vehicles. The "Propix" headlight developed at KIT's Light Technology Institute (LTI) a few years ago was the point of departure of the scientists. Propix can adapt its light distribution to the environment, i.e. suppress certain areas completely, whereas others are illuminated brightly.