Intelligent Headlight Control (1)

Mobileye’s Intelligent Headlight Control (IHC) assists the driver with the correct use of high-beam. It supports the driver in using the high beam to the fullest extent possible, automatically raising and lowering the high beams without inconveniencing oncoming or preceding traffic. The function benefits both the driver and other road users as high beam glare from preceding or oncoming vehicles is a major contributor to accidents, where vehicle high beams can momentarily 'dazzle' other road users and contribute to accidents.

Mobileye's IHC is in production on the BMW 7 series, together with Lane Departure Warning and Traffic Sign Recognition, and in series development for several other global vehicle makers to be launched as part of multiple functions packages from 2010.

The IHC system assists the driver in controlling the vehicle's high beams and increases their correct use. Drivers usually do not turn the high beams on or off when needed and instead, keep the headlights off in order to avoid frequent switching and often forget to dim the headlight in the face of oncoming or preceding traffic. This can  dazzle other road users and contribute to accidents. Alternatively remaining in low beam illumination reduces the drivers visibility range and the ability to identify and respond to hazards ahead.

The IHC system automatically dips from high to low beams in the following cases:
- Preceding traffic (tail lights):
  Where tail lights are recognized in front of the host vehicle up to a distance of 400m and can track the
  vehicle to well beyond this.
- Oncoming traffic:
  Whenever there is an oncoming vehicle up to a distance of 800m and can track the vehicle to well beyond
  this.
- Lit/Urban areas:
  Whenever the host vehicle enters a well lit (or an urban) area or when street lights are detected.

IHC includes a new ‘fog’ detection function which Mobileye has developed for high-beam/low-beam control. The key idea is that fog does not only reduce visibility by making the image more blurred, so do rain drops and other obstructions on the windshield. The use of high-beams in fog also produces glare which hinders the driver’s ability to see the road ahead. The glare is produced by the headlight beams reflecting off the fog particles in the cones of light off the car headlights. The glare is often hard to see in the image but, since its’ pattern is fixed in the image due to the fixed geometry of the headlights relative to the camera, it can be detected robustly using multi-frame techniques. When the glare is above a certain threshold and the high-beams are on then, the beams are switched to low.

Mobileye's IHC also includes the detection of oncoming vehicles detected over the central dividing guard rail or central crash. This ensures that the high low beam switching will still take place even when oncoming vehicles are partially obscured; thereby further enhancing the overall system performance.

Ongoing development:
Mobileye is continuing its research in advanced headlamp control and is currently engaged in many new activities. Mobileye's technology can provide the distance and orientation to preceding and oncoming vehicles and this data can be used by the system integrator for Advanced Front Lighting control strategies.

- Gliding High Beam Control:
  Being a further development of the current IHC, Gliding High beam Control will seamlessly move from high
  to low beams, depending on the range and angle to the preceding and oncoming vehicles without
  'switching' between high and low beams. Mobileye is uniquely positioned to provide a very high level of
  functionality due to the current vehicle detection technologies which have been developed to series level.
- Advanced Front Lighting systems:
  Together with Visteon Lighting Mobileye is working towards advanced AFL systems.  In this function the
  host vehicles headlamps can incorporate smart adaptive beam forming, based on detecting the range to
  oncoming vehicles, whereby one of the the host vehicles high beams can be formed to give the driver the
  maximum view of the lane ahead, whilst the second high beam is controlled to avoid dazzling the
  oncoming vehicle.

Partnership with Visteon Corporation:
Mobileye and Visteon Corporation have formed a co-operation partnership to jointly develop the technologies necessary to drive tomorrow's lighting systems. Based on unique road and vehicle detection inputs from Mobileye's EyeQ2 processor based camera system, Visteon is developing next generation advanced front lighting control strategies ensuring glare free headlamp applications in vehicles from 2010 onwards.
 
Visteon, due to its unique headlamp shutter technology is capable, based on Mobileye input, of controlling high beam patterns and can 'mask off' areas of high beam to ensure that the oncoming or preceding vehicles are not dazzled, whilst the host vehicle's driver has the most efficient use of his high beams possible. The combination of Mobileye and Visteon technologies permits unparalled headlamp control in the market.