Automotive Lights

The lighting system of a motor vehicle consists of lighting and signalling devices mounted or
integrated to the front, rear, sides, and in some cases the top of a motor vehicle. This lights the
roadway for the driver and increases the conspicuity of the vehicle, allowing other drivers and
pedestrians to see a vehicle's presence, position, size, direction of travel, and the driver's
intentions regarding direction and speed of travel. Emergency vehicles usually carry distinctive
lighting equipment to warn drivers and indicate priority of movement in traffic.
Early road vehicles used fueled lamps, before the availability of electric lighting. For example,
the first introduced Ford Model T used carbide lamps for headlamps and oil lamps for tail lamps.
It did not have all-electric lighting as a standard feature until after several years on the
market. Dynamos for automobile headlamps were first fitted around 1908 and became
commonplace in 1920s automobiles. Tail lamps and brake lamps were introduced around 1915,
and by 1919 "dip" headlamps were available. The sealed beam headlamp was introduced in
1936 and standardised as the only acceptable type in the USA in 1940. Self-cancelling turn
signals were developed in 1940. By 1945 headlamps and signal lamps were integrated into the
body styling. Halogen headlamp light sources were developed in Europe in 1960. HID
headlamps were produced starting in 1991. In 1993, the first LED tail lamps were installed on
mass-production automobiles. LED headlamps were introduced in the first decade of the 21st
century.
The colour of light emitted by vehicle lights is largely standardised by longstanding convention.
It was first codified in the 1949 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and later specified in the
1968 United Nations Convention on Road Traffic.Generally, but with some regional exceptions,
lamps facing rearward must emit red light, lamps facing sideward and all turn signals must
emit amber light, while lamps facing frontward must emit white or selective yellow light. No other
colours are permitted except on emergency vehicles.
Dipped-beam (also called low, passing, or meeting beam) headlamps provide a light distribution
to give adequate forward and lateral illumination without dazzling other road users with
excessive glare. This beam is specified for use whenever other vehicles are present ahead.
UN Regulations for headlamps specify a beam with a sharp, asymmetric cutoff preventing
significant amounts of light from being cast into the eyes of drivers of preceding or oncoming
cars. Control of glare is less strict in the United States-based Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) beam standard. It is contained in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
108 (FMVSS / CMVSS 108).
Main-beam (also called high, driving, or full beam) headlamps provide an intense, centreweighted distribution of light with no particular control of glare. Therefore, they are only suitable
for use when alone on the road, as the glare they produce will dazzle other drivers. ECE and
Japanese Regulations permit higher-intensity, high-beam headlamps than allowed under US
regulations.
Auxiliary high beam lamps may be fitted to provide high intensity light to enable the driver to see
at longer range than the vehicle's high beam headlamps may be fitted. Such lamps are most
notably fitted on rallying cars, and are occasionally fitted to production vehicles derived from or

imitating such cars. They are common in countries with large stretches of unlit roads, or in
regions such as the Nordic countries where the period of daylight is short during winter.
"Driving lamp" is a term deriving from the early days of nighttime driving, when it was relatively
rare to encounter an opposing vehicle. Only on those occasions when opposing drivers passed
each other would the low (dipped or "passing") beam be used. The high beam was therefore
known as the "driving beam", and this terminology is still found in international UN Regulations,
which do not distinguish between a vehicle's primary (mandatory) and auxiliary (optional)
upper/driving beam lamps. The "driving lamp" term has been supplanted in US regulations by
the functionally descriptive term "auxiliary high-beam lamp".
Many countries regulate the installation and use of driving lamps. For example, in Russia each
vehicle may have no more than three pairs of lights including the original-equipment items, and
in Paraguay auxiliary driving lamps must be off and covered with opaque material when the
vehicle is circulating in urban areas.
Front fog lamps provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are
generally aimed and mounted low. They may produce white or selective yellow light, and were
designed for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and
verges in conditions of poor visibility due to rain, fog, dust or snow.
They are sometimes used in place of dipped-beam headlamps, reducing the glare-back from
fog or falling snow, although the legality varies by jurisdiction of using front fog lamps without
low beam headlamps.
In most countries, weather conditions rarely necessitate the use of fog lamps, and there is no
legal requirement for them, so their primary purpose is frequently cosmetic. They are often
available as optional extras or only on higher trim levels of many cars. An SAE study has shown
that in the United States more people inappropriately use their fog lamps in dry weather than
use them properly in poor weather. Because of this, use of the fog lamps when visibility is not
seriously reduced is often prohibited in most jurisdictions; for example, in New South Wales,
Australia:
"The driver of a vehicle must not use any fog light fitted to the vehicle unless the driver is driving
in fog, mist or under other atmospheric conditions that restrict visibility."
The respective purposes of front fog lamps and driving lamps are often confused, due in part to
the misconception that fog lamps are necessarily selective yellow, while any auxiliary lamp that
makes white light is a driving lamp. Automakers and aftermarket parts and accessories
suppliers frequently refer interchangeably to "fog lamps" and "driving lamps" (or "fog/driving
lamps").
On some models, white "cornering lamps" provide extra lateral illumination in the direction of an
intended turn or lane change. These are actuated in conjunction with the turn signals, though
they burn steadily, and they may also be wired to illuminate when the vehicle is shifted into
reverse gear,[18] as is done on many Saabs and Corvettes. Modern vehicles such as the Audi S8

may activate the cornering lights when the steering wheel input reaches a threshold angle,
determined by the manufacturer, regardless of whether a directional signal has been activated.
American technical standards contain provisions for front cornering lamps as well as for rear
cornering lamps. Cornering lamps have traditionally been prohibited under international UN
Regulations, though provisions have recently been made to allow them as long as they are only
operable when the vehicle is travelling at less than 40 kilometres per hour (about 25 mph).
Police cars, emergency vehicles, and those competing in road rallies are sometimes equipped
with an auxiliary lamp, sometimes called an alley light, in a swivel-mounted housing attached to
one or both a-pillars, directable by a handle protruding through the pillar into the vehicle.
Until the mid-1940s, these spot lamps could be found as standard equipment on expensive
cars. Until the mid-1960s, they were commonly offered by automakers as model-specific
accessory items.
Spot lamps are used to illuminate signs, house numbers, and people. Spot lights can also be
had in versions designed to mount through the vehicle's roof. In some countries, for example in
Russia, spot lights are allowed only on emergency vehicles or for off-road driving.
Conspicuity devices are the lamps and reflectors that make a vehicle conspicuous and visible
with respect to its presence, position, direction of travel, change in direction or deceleration.
Such lamps may burn steadily, blink, or flash, depending on their intended and regulated
function. Most must be fitted in pairsone left and one rightthough some vehicles have
multiple pairs (such as two left and two right stop lamps) and/or redundant light sources (such
as one left and one right stop lamp, each containing two bulbs).
"Front position lamps", known as "parking lamps" or "parking lights" in the US and Canada, and
"front sidelights" in British English, provide nighttime standing-vehicle conspicuity. They were
designed to use little electricity, so they could be left on for periods of time while parked. Despite
the UK term, these are not the same as the side marker lights described below.
The front position lamps on any vehicle may emit white or amber light in the United States,
Canada, Japan, and New Zealand; elsewhere in the world only motorcycles may have amber
front position lamps; all other vehicles must have white ones. Colloquial city light terminology for
front position lamps derives from the practice, formerly adhered to in cities like Moscow, London
and Paris, of driving at night in built-up areas using these low-intensity lights rather than
headlamps.
In Germany, the StVZO (Road Traffic Licensing Regulations) calls for a different function also
known as parking lamps: With the vehicle's ignition switched off, the operator may activate a
low-intensity light at the front (white) and rear (red) on either the left or the right side of the car.
This function is used when parking in narrow unlit streets to provide parked-vehicle conspicuity
to approaching drivers. This function, which is optional under UN and US regulations, is served
passively and without power consumption in the United States by the mandatory side marker
retroreflectors.[7]

Some countries permit or require vehicles to be equipped with daytime running lamps (DRL).
Depending on the regulations of the country for which the vehicle is built, these may be
functionally dedicated lamps, or the function may be provided by the low beam or high beam
headlamps, the front turn signals, or the front fog lamps.
Passenger cars and small delivery vans first type approved to UN Regulation 48 on or after 7
February 2011 must be equipped with DRLs; large vehicles (trucks and buses) type approved
since August 2012 must be so equipped. Functional piggybacking, such as operating the
headlamps or front turn signals or fog lamps as DRLs, is not permitted; the EU Directive
requires functionally specific daytime running lamps compliant with UN Regulation 87 and
mounted to the vehicle in accord with UN Regulation 48.
Prior to the DRL mandate, countries requiring daytime lights permitted low beam headlamps to
provide that function. National regulations
in Canada, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark require hardwired
automatic DRL systems of varying specification. DRLs are permitted in many countries where
they are not required, but prohibited in other countries not requiring them.
Front, side, and rear position lamps are permitted, required or forbidden to illuminate in
combination with daytime running lamps, depending on the jurisdiction and the DRL
implementation. Likewise, according to jurisdictional regulations, DRLs mounted within a certain
distance of turn signals are permitted or required to extinguish or dim down to parking lamp
intensity individually when the adjacent turn signal is operating.
UN Regulation 87 stipulates that DRLs must emit white light with an intensity of at least
400 candela on axis and no more than 1200 candela in any direction.
In the US, daytime running lamps may emit amber or white light, and may produce up to 7,000
candela. This has provoked a large number of complaints about glare.
UK regulations briefly required vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1987 to be equipped with
a dim-dip device or special running lamps, except such vehicles as comply fully with UN
Regulation 48 regarding installation of lighting equipment. A dim-dip device operates the low
beam headlamps (called "dipped beam" in the UK) at between 10% and 20% of normal lowbeam intensity. The running lamps permitted as an alternative to dim-dip were required to emit
at least 200 candela straight ahead, and no more than 800 candela in any direction. In practice,
most vehicles were equipped with the dim-dip option rather than the running lamps.
The dim-dip systems were not intended for daytime use as DRLs. Rather, they operated if the
engine was running and the driver switched on the parking lamps (called "sidelights" in the UK).
Dim-dip was intended to provide a nighttime "town beam" with intensity between that of the
parking lamps commonly used at the time by British drivers in city traffic after dark, and dipped
(low) beams; the former were considered insufficiently intense to provide improved conspicuity
in conditions requiring it, while the latter were considered too glaring for safe use in built-up
areas. The UK was the only country to require such dim-dip systems, though vehicles so
equipped were sold in other Commonwealth countries with left-hand traffic.

In 1988, the European Commission successfully prosecuted the UK government in

the European Court of Justice, arguing that the UK requirement for dim-dip was illegal under EC
directives prohibiting member states from enacting vehicle lighting requirements not contained
in pan-European EC directives. As a result, the UK requirement for dim-dip was quashed.
Nevertheless, dim-dip systems remain permitted, and while such systems are not presently as
common as they once were, dim-dip functionality was fitted on many new cars well into the
1990s. The Jaguar XJS used this system, including the final Celebration models produced up
until 1995.
In the US, amber front and red rear side marker lamps and retroreflectors are required. The law
initially required lights or retroreflectors on vehicles made after 1 January 1968. This was
amended to require lights and retroreflectors on vehicles made after 1 January 1970. These
side-facing devices make the vehicle's presence, position and direction of travel clearly visible
from oblique angles. The lights are wired so as to illuminate whenever the vehicles' parking and
tail lamps are on, including when the headlamps are being used. Front amber side markers in
the United States may be wired so as to flash in synchronous phase or opposite-phase with the
turn signals, but are not required to flash at all. Side markers are permitted but not required on
cars and light passenger vehicles outside the US and Canada. If installed, they are required to
be brighter and visible through a larger horizontal angle than US side markers, may flash only in
synchronous phase with the turn signals (but are not required to flash), and they must be amber
at the front and rear, except rear side markers may be red if they are grouped, combined, or
reciprocally incorporated with another rear lighting function that is required to be red.
Japan's accession to international standards has caused automakers to change the rear side
marker colour from red to amber on their models so equipped in the Japanese market.
Turn signalsformally called "direction indicators" or "directional signals", and informally known
as "directionals", "blinkers", "indicators" or "flashers"are blinking lamps mounted near the left
and right front and rear corners of a vehicle, and sometimes on the sides, activated by the driver
on one side of the vehicle at a time to advertise intent to turn or change lanes towards that side.
Electric turn-signal lights date from as early as 1907. The modern flashing turn signal was
patented in 1938 and later most major automobile manufacturers offered this feature. As of
2013 most countries require turn signals on all new vehicles that are driven on public
roadways. Alternative systems of hand signals were used earlier, and remain common
for bicycles. Hand signals are also sometimes used when regular vehicle lights are
malfunctioning or for older vehicles that are not so equipped.
Some cars from the 1920s to early 1960s used retractable semaphores called trafficators rather
than flashing lights. They were commonly mounted high up behind the front doors and swung
out horizontally. However, they were fragile and could be easily broken off and also had a
tendency to stick in the closed position.
As with all vehicle lighting and signalling devices, turn-signal lights must comply with technical
standards that stipulate minimum and maximum permissible intensity levels, minimum
horizontal and vertical angles of visibility, and minimum illuminated surface area to ensure that

they are visible at all relevant angles, do not dazzle those who view them, and are suitably
conspicuous in conditions ranging from full darkness to full direct sunlight.
In most countries, cars must be equipped with side-mounted turn signal repeatersto make the
turn indication visible laterally rather than just to the front and rear of the vehicle. These are
permitted, but not required in the US. As an alternative in both the United States and Canada,
the front amber side marker lights may be wired to flash with the turn signals, but this also is not
mandatory. In recent years, many automakers have been incorporating side turn signal devices
into the sideview mirror housings, rather than mounting them on the vehicle's fenders. Some
evidence suggests these mirror-mounted turn signals may be more effective than fendermounted items.
Turn signals are required to blink on and off, or "flash", at a steady rate of between 60 and 120
blinks per minute (12 Hz). International UN Regulations require that all turn signals flash in
simultaneous phase; US regulations permit side marker lights wired for side turn signal
functionality to flash in opposite-phase. An audio and/or visual tell-tale indicator is required, to
advise the driver when the turn signals are activated and operating. This usually takes the form
of one or two green indicator lights on the vehicle's instrument cluster, and a cyclical "tick-tock"
noise generated electromechanically or electronically. It is also required that the vehicle
operator be alerted by much faster- or slower-than-normal flashing in the event a turn signal
light fails.
Turn signals are in almost every case activated by a horizontal lever (or "stalk") protruding from
the side of the steering column, though on some vehicles it protrudes from the dashboard. The
outboard end of the stalk is pushed clockwise to activate the right turn signals, or anticlockwise
for the left turn signals. In most cases, the signal stalk is on the outboard side of the column: the
left side in a left-hand drive car, or the right side in a right-hand drive car. Regulations do not
specify a mandatory location for the turn signal control, only that it be visible and operable by
the belted-in driver, andat least in North Americathat it be labelled with a specific symbol if it
is not located on the left side of the steering column. The international UN Regulations do not
include analogous specifications.
Virtually all vehicles (except many motorcycles and commercial semi-tractors) have a turnindicator self-cancelling feature that returns the lever to the neutral (no signal) position as the
steering wheel approaches the straight-ahead position after a turn has been made. Beginning in
the late 1960s, indicating for a lane change was facilitated by the addition of a spring-loaded
momentary signal-on position just shy of the left and right detents. The signal operates for
however long the driver holds the lever partway towards the left or right turn signal detent. Some
recent vehicles have an automatic lane-change indication feature; tapping the lever partway
towards the left or right signal position and immediately releasing it causes the applicable turn
indicators to flash three to five times.
Some transit buses, such as those in New York, have had, since at least the 1950s, turn signals
activated by floor-mounted momentary-contact footswitches on the floor near the driver's left
foot (on left-hand drive buses). The foot-activated signals allow bus drivers to keep both hands
on the steering wheel while watching the road and scanning for passengers as they approach a
bus stop. New York City Transit bus drivers, among others, are trained to step continuously on

the right directional switch while servicing a bus stop, to signal other road users they are
intentionally dwelling at the stop, allowing following buses to skip that stop. This method of
signalling requires no special arrangements for self-cancellation or passing.

Light Bulbs
A light bulb is a device that produces light from electricity.[1] In addition to lighting a dark space,
they can be used to show an electronic device is on, to direct traffic, for heat, and many other
purposes.
Early people used candles and oil lamps for light (often from whale oil). Crude incandescent
lights were made in the early and middle 19th century but had little use.
Improved vacuum pumps and better materials made them shine longer and brighter late in the
century. Electric generator stations brought electricity to urban and later rural areas to power
them. Later gas discharge lights, including fluorescent lights, use less electricity to make more
light.

There are several kinds of light bulbs:

incandescent light bulb - the most common light bulb in the house until about 20032010
'halogen lamp' - a more efficient incandescent bulb

gas discharge lamp - a type of light bulb that includes the fluorescent light. Compact
fluorescent lights (or CFLs) are now replacing incandescent light bulbs in the house

light-emitting diodes - previously only used for low-power places, they are now able to be
used as light bulbs in the house

electric arc lamp, the earliest kind, now rare except in big searchlights

Light bulbs convert electricity into light and heat. Except for heat lamps, the heat is considered
waste. A light bulb that produces more light and less heat is more efficient.
The incandescent light bulb turns electricity into light by sending the electric current through a
thin wire called a filament. Filament is made up mostly of tungsten, a type of metal.
The resistance of the filament heats the bulb up. Eventually the filament gets so hot that it
glows, producing light.[3]
The filament needs to be protected from oxygen in the air, so it is inside the bulb, and the air in
the bulb is either removed (a vacuum) or more often, replaced with a gas that doesn't affect
anything, like neon or argon. Only about 3% of the energy that goes into an incandescent light

bulb actually makes light, the rest makes heat. That's one of the reasons LED's are more
efficient.
This is the type of light bulb that Thomas Edison spent so much time on in the 1870s. It was the
first light bulb that could be used in houses - it did not cost too much, and it worked well. For the
first time, people did not have to burn something (candles, oil lamps, kerosene lamps, etc.) to
make light. It was bright enough that people could read easily at night or do work. It was used to
light stores and streets, and people could travel around after dark. This started the common use
of electricity in homes and businesses. Tungsten filaments, developed in the 1900s, last longer
and make a brighter light. They quickly replaced carbon ones.
Fluorescent lamps are efficient, and only give off the amount of heat of an incandescent.
They also last longer than incandescent but until recently were much bigger and did not fit into
sockets for small overhead lights and lamps like an incandescent could.
A fluorescent bulb is a glass tube usually filled with argon gas and a little bit of mercury. When
turned on, the cathode heats up and sends out electrons. These hit the argon gas and the
mercury. The argon gas makes a plasma which lets the electrons move around better. When the
electrons hit a mercury atom it puts the molecule into a state where it has a lot of energy (stores
the energy). The energetic state doesn't last very long, and when the energy is released, it lets
out a photon.Photons from mercury are not visible like some other photons; they are ultraviolet.
So there's a phosphor coating on the wall of the bulb. When the photon hits a phosphor
molecule, it in turn puts that molecule into an excited state. When this phosphor releases
energy, it lets out a photon that we can see, and light is made. Changing the type of phosphor
can change the color we see, but usually fluorescent light bulbs are whiter than incandescent
light bulbs, which are slightly yellow.
An LED is made like electronics. It is a chip of semiconducting material, usually silicon. LED
bulbs are more efficient and last much longer than either incandescent or fluorescent bulbs.
Unlike fluorescent bulbs, LEDs do not use mercury, which is toxic. Until recently LED bulbs were
not as bright as the other kinds of lights, and cost more too.
Most light bulbs fit into a socket. If the socket is turned on, there is electricity there, even if the
bulb is out, so there is danger of electric shock. Most bulbs get very hot when they are turned
on, and take some time to cool off. Most light bulbs are made of glass, which means that they
can break easily. Fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, if they break, be careful
to not breathe the mercury vapor. With all light bulbs, the filament will eventually break and the
bulb will need to be replaced.
Light bulbs require periodic maintenance. Sealed beam light bulbs are modular; when
the filament burns out, the entire sealed beam is replaced. Most vehicles in North America made
since the late 1980s use headlamp lens-reflector assemblies that are considered a part of the
car, and just the bulb is replaced when it fails. Manufacturers vary the means by which the bulb
is accessed and replaced. Headlamp aim must be properly checked and adjusted frequently, for
misaimed lamps are dangerous and ineffective.
Over time, the light bulbs can deteriorate. It can become pitted due to abrasion of road sand and
pebbles, and can crack, admitting water into the headlamp. "Plastic" (polycarbonate) lenses can
become cloudy and discoloured. This is due to oxidation of the painted-on lens hardcoat by
ultraviolet light from the sun and the headlamp bulbs. If it is minor, it can be polished out using a
reputable brand of a car polish that is intended for restoring the shine to chalked paint. In more
advanced stages, the deterioration extends through the actual plastic material, rendering the
headlamp useless and necessitating complete replacement. Sanding or aggressively polishing
the lenses, or plastic headlight restoration, can buy some time, but doing so removes the

protective coating from the lens, which when so stripped will deteriorate faster and more
severely.
The reflector, made out of vapourised aluminum deposited in an extremely thin layer on a metal,
glass or plastic substrate, can become dirty, oxidised, or burnt, and lose its specularity. This can
happen if water enters the headlamp, if bulbs of higher than specified wattage are installed, or
simply with age and use. Reflectors thus degraded, if they cannot be cleaned, must be
replaced.
Dirt buildup on headlamp lenses increases glare to other road users, even at levels too low to
reduce seeing performance significantly for the driver. Therefore, headlamp lens cleaners are
required by ECE Regulation 48 on vehicles equipped with low-beam headlamps using light
sources that have a reference luminous flux of 2,000 lumens or more. This includes all HID
headlamps and some high-power halogen units. Some cars have lens cleaners fitted even
where the regulations do not require them. North America, for example, does not use UN
regulations, and FMVSS 108 does not require lens cleaners on any headlamps, though they are
permitted.
Lens cleaning systems come in two main varieties: a small motor-driven rubber wiper or brush
conceptually similar towindshield wipers, or a fixed or telescopic high-pressure sprayer which
cleans the lenses with a spray of windshield washer fluid. Most recent lens cleaning systems
are of the spray type, because UN regulations do not permit mechanical cleaning systems
(wipers) to be used with plastic-lens headlamps,[10] and most recent headlamps have plastic
lenses. Some cars with retractable headlamps, such as the original Mazda MX-5, have
a squeegee at the front of the lamp recess which automatically wipes the lenses as they are
raised or lowered, although it does not provide washer fluid

Headlamp
A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to light the road ahead. While it is
common for the term headlight to be used interchangeably in informal discussion, headlamp is
the term for the device itself, while headlight properly refers to the beam of light produced and
distributed by the device.
Headlamp performance has steadily improved throughout the automobile age, spurred by the
great disparity between daytime and nighttime traffic fatalities: the US National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration states that nearly half of all traffic-related fatalities occur in the dark,
despite only 25% of traffic travelling during darkness.
Other vehicles, such as trains and aircraft, are required to have headlamps. Bicycle
headlamps are often used on bicycles, and are required in some jurisdictions. They can be
powered by a battery or a small generator mechanically integrated into the workings of the
bicycle.
The earliest headlamps were fueled by acetylene or oil, and were introduced in the late
1880s. Acetylene lamps were popular because the flame is resistant to wind and rain. The first
electric headlamps were introduced in 1898 on the Columbia Electric Car from the Electric
Vehicle Company of Hartford, Connecticut, and were optional. Two factors limited the
widespread use of electric headlamps: the short life of filaments in the harsh automotive
environment, and the difficulty of producing dynamos small enough, yet powerful enough to
produce sufficient current.

"Prest-O-Lite" acetylene lights were offered by a number of manufacturers as standard

equipment for 1904, and Peerless made electric headlamps standard in 1908. A
Birmingham firm called Pockley Automobile Electric Lighting Syndicate marketed the world's first
electric car lights as a complete set in 1908, which consisted of headlamps, sidelamps and tail
lights and were powered by an eight-volt battery.
In 1912, Cadillac integrated their vehicle's Delco electrical ignition and lighting system, creating
the modern vehicle electrical system.
"Dipping" (low beam) headlamps were introduced in 1915 by the Guide Lamp Company, but the
1917 Cadillac system allowed the light to be dipped with a lever inside the car rather than
requiring the driver to stop and get out. The 1924 Bilux bulb was the first modern unit, having
the light for both low (dipped) and high (main) beams of a headlamp emitting from a single bulb.
A similar design was introduced in 1925 by Guide Lamp called the "Duplo". In 1927, the footoperated dimmer switch or dip switch was introduced and became standard for much of the
century. 193334 Packards were equipped with tri-beam headlamps, the bulbs having three
filaments. From highest to lowest, the beams were called "country passing", "country driving"
and "city driving". The 1934 Nash also used a three-beam system, although in this case, the
bulbs were conventional two-filament type, and the intermediate beam combined low beam on
the driver's side with high beam on the passenger's side, so as to maximize the view of the
roadside while minimizing glare toward oncoming traffic. The last vehicle with a foot-operated
dimmer switch were the 1991 Ford F-Series and E-Series [Econoline] vans. Fog lamps were
new for 1938 Cadillacs, and their 1954 "Autronic Eye" system automated the selection of high
and low beams.
Directional lighting was introduced in the rare, one-year-only 1935 Tatra 77a, and later
popularised by the Citroen DS. This made it possible to turn the light in the direction of travel
when the steering wheel was turned, and is now widely adopted technology.
The standardised 7-inch (178 mm) round sealed beam headlamp was introduced in 1940, and
was soon required (exactly two per car) for all vehicles sold in the United States, freezing usable
lighting technology in place until the 1970s, for Americans. Because the law was written to
prevent 'bad headlights,' it by design looks backwards and has historically not been able to deal
with improved, innovative designs.
In 1957, the law changed slightly, permitting Americans to possess vehicles with four 5.75-inch
(146 mm) round sealed beam headlamps, and in 1974, these lights were permitted to be
rectangular as well.
Clear aerodynamic headlight covers were illegal in the U.S. until 1983, so a work-around was
used for the U.S. market, the pop-up headlight.
Britain, Australia, and some other Commonwealth countries, as well as Japan and Sweden, also
made extensive use of 7-inch sealed beams, though they were not mandated as they were in
the United States. This headlamp format was not widely accepted in continental Europe, which
found replaceable bulbs and variations in the size and shape of headlamps useful in car design.
This led to different front-end designs for each side of the Atlantic for decades.
Technology moved forward in the rest of the world. The first halogen lamp for vehicle headlamp
use, the H1, was introduced in 1962 by a European consortium of bulb and headlamp makers.
Shortly thereafter, headlamps using the new light source were introduced in Europe. These
were effectively prohibited in the US, where standard-size sealed beam headlamps were
mandatory and intensity regulations were low. US lawmakers faced pressure to act, both due to
lighting effectiveness and vehicle aerodynamics/fuel savings. High beam peak intensity, capped
at 140,000 candela per side of the car in Europe, was limited in the United States to 37,500

candela on each side of the car until 1978, when the limit was raised to 75,000. An increase in
high beam intensity to take advantage of the higher allowance could not be achieved without a
move to halogen technology, and so sealed beam headlamps with internal halogen burners
became available for use on 1979 models in the United States. Halogen sealed beams now
dominate the sealed beam market, which has declined steeply since replaceable-bulb
headlamps were permitted in 1983.
High-intensity discharge (HID) systems were introduced in the early 1990s, first in the BMW 7series. 1996's Lincoln Mark VIII was an early American effort at HIDs, and was the only car
with DC HIDs.
Beyond the engineering, performance and regulatory-compliance aspects of headlamps, there
is the consideration of the various ways they are designed and arranged on a motor vehicle.
Headlamps were rounr for many years, because that is the native shape of a parabolic reflector.
There was no requirement in Europe for headlamps of standardised size or shape, and lamps
could be designed in any shape and size, as long as the lamps met the engineering and
performance requirements contained in the applicable European safety standards. Rectangular
headlamps were first used in 1961, developed by Cibi for the Citron Ami 6 and by Hella for
the German Ford Taunus. They were prohibited in the United States where round lamps were
required until 1975. Another early headlamp styling concept involved conventional round lamps
faired into the car's bodywork with aerodynamic glass covers, such as those on the 1961 Jaguar
E-Type, and on pre-1967 VW Beetles.
In 1940, a consortium of state motor vehicle administrators standardised upon a system of two
7 in (178 mm) round sealed beam headlamps on all vehiclesthe only system allowed for 17
years. A system of four round lamps, rather than two one high/low and one high-beam 5 34 in
(146 mm) sealed beam on each side was introduced in 1957 by Cadillac, Chrysler, DeSoto
and Nash on some of their car models in states that permitted the new system. Of these, the
Nash Ambassador and the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham had quad headlights as standard
equipment in 1957 (and were technically illegal in those states prohibiting them still). Other
American marques followed suit when all states permitted quad lamps in 1958. These lamps
permitted more design flexibility. Auto stylists such as Virgil Exnercarried out design studies with
the low beams in their conventional outboard location, and the high beams vertically stacked at
the centreline of the car. No such designs reached volume production; most cars had their
headlights in pairs side by side on each side of the car, and some Oldsmobiles had a parking
light in the middle of each pair.
An example arrangement includes the stacking of two headlamps on each side with low beams
above high beams. Nash used this arrangement in the 1957 model year. Pontiac used this
design starting in the 1963 model year; American Motors, Ford, Cadillac and Chrysler followed
two years later. Also in the 1965 model year, the Buick Riviera had concealable stacked
headlamps. The Mercedes-Benz W100,W108, W111, and W112 models sold in America used
this arrangement because their home-market composite lamps were illegal in the US. The
British firm Alvis and the French firm Facel Vega also used this setup for some of their cars, as
did Nissan in Japan.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler arranged the headlamps
diagonally by placing the low-beam lamps outboard and above the high-beam lamps. Certain
British cars used a less extreme diagonal arrangement, with the inboard high-beam lamps
placed only slightly lower than the outboard low-beam units. The 1965 Gordon-Keeble, Jensen
CV8, Triumph Vitesse and Bentley S3 Continental used such an arrangement.
In 1968 when Federal auto equipment and safety regulations were initiated, the requirement for
two large or four small round sealed beams was codified, freezing headlamp design for many
years. At the same time, the new regulations prohibited any decorative or protective element in
front of the headlamps whenever the headlamps are switched on. Glass-covered headlamps,
used on e.g. the Jaguar E-Type, pre-1968 VW Beetle,
1965 Chrysler and Imperial models, Porsche 356, Citron DS and Ferrari Daytona were no
longer permitted and vehicles had to be imported with uncovered headlamps for the US market.
This change meant that vehicles designed for good aerodynamic performance could not
achieve it for the US market.
When Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 was amended in 1974 to
permit rectangular headlamps, these were placed in horizontally arrayed or vertically stacked
pairs. By 1979, the majority of new cars in the US market were equipped with rectangular
lamps. Again, the US permitted only two standardised sizes of rectangular sealed-beam lamp: A
system of two 200 by 142 mm (7.9 by 5.6 in) high/low beam units corresponding to the existing
7-inch round format, or a system of four 165 by 100 mm (6.5 by 3.9 in) units, two high/low and
two high-beam. corresponding to the existing 5 34 in (146 mm) round format.
In 1983, granting a 1981 petition from Ford Motor Company, the 44-year-old US headlamp
regulations were amended to allow replaceable-bulb, nonstandard-shape, architectural
headlamps with aerodynamic lenses that could for the first time be plastic. This allowed the first
US-market car since 1939 with replaceable bulb headlamps: the 1984 Lincoln Mark VII. These
composite headlamps were sometimes referred to as "Euro" headlamps, since aerodynamic
headlamps were common in Europe. Though conceptually similar to European headlamps with
non-standardised shape and replaceable-bulb construction, these headlamps conform to
the SAE headlamp standards of US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, and not the
internationalised European safety standards used outside North America. Nevertheless, this
change to US regulations largely united headlamp styling within and outside the North American
market.
In the late 1990s, round headlamps returned to popularity on new cars. These are generally not
the discrete self-contained round lamps as found on older cars (certain Jaguars excepted), but
rather involve circular or oval optical elements within an architecturally shaped housing
assembly.
Hidden headlamps (also known as pop-up lights) were introduced in 1936, on theCord 810/812.
They were mounted in the front fenders, which were smooth until the lights were cranked out each with its own small dash-mounted crank - by the operator. They aided aerodynamics when
the headlamps were not in use, and were among the Cord's signature design features.

Later hidden headlamps require one or more vacuum-operated servos and reservoirs, with
associated plumbing and linkage, or electric motors, geartrains and linkages to raise the lamps
to an exact position to assure correct aiming despite ice, snow and age. Some early hidden
headlamps, such as those on the Saab Sonett III, used a lever-operated mechanical linkage to
raise the headlamps into position.
During the 1960s and 1970s many notable sports cars used this feature such as the Chevrolet
Corvette (C3), Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer and Lamborghini Countach as they allowed low bonnet
lines but raised the lights to the required height, but since 2003 no modern volume-produced car
models use hidden headlamps, because they present difficulties in complying with pedestrianprotection provisions added to international auto safety regulations regarding protuberances on
car bodies to minimise injury to pedestrians struck by cars.
Some hidden headlamps themselves do not move, but rather are covered when not in use by
panels designed to blend in with the car's styling. When the lamps are switched on, the covers
are swung out of the way, usually downward or upward, for example on the 1992 Jaguar XJ220.
The door mechanism may be actuated by vacuum pots, as on some Ford vehicles of the late
1960s through early 1980s such as the 19671970 Mercury Cougar, or by an electric motor as
on various Chrysler products of the middle 1960s through late 1970s such as the 1966
1967 Dodge Charger.
Modern headlamps are electrically operated, positioned in pairs, one or two on each side of the
front of a vehicle. A headlamp system is required to produce a low and a high beam, which may
be achieved either by an individual lamp for each function or by a single multifunction lamp.
High beams (called "main beams" or "full beams" or "driving beams" in some countries) cast
most of their light straight ahead, maximizing seeing distance, but producing too much glare for
safe use when other vehicles are present on the road. Because there is no special control of
upward light, high beams also cause backdazzle from fog, rain and snow due to
the retroreflection of the water droplets. Low beams (called "dipped beams" or "passing beams"
in some countries) have stricter control of upward light, and direct most of their light downward
and either rightward (in right-traffic countries) or leftward (in left-traffic countries), to provide safe
forward visibility without excessive glare or backdazzle.

Headlamp Switch
A Headlamp switch is used to turn on or off of the headlamp or headlight. Back in 1948 Citroen
2CV was launched in France with a manual headlamp leveling system, controlled by the driver
with knob through a mechanical rod linkage. This allowed the driver to adjust the vertical aim of
the headlamps to compensate for the passenger and cargo load in the vehicle. In
1954, Cibi introduced an automatic headlamp leveling system linked to the vehicle's
suspension system to keep the headlamps correctly aimed regardless of vehicle load, without
driver intervention. The first vehicle to be so equipped was the Panhard Dyna Z. Beginning in
the 1970s, Germany and some other European countries began requiring remote-control
headlamp leveling systems that permit the driver to lower the lamps' aim by means of a
dashboard control lever or knob if the rear of the vehicle is weighted down with passengers or

cargo, which would tend to raise the lamps' aim angle and create glare. Such systems typically
use stepper motors at the headlamp and a rotary switch on the dash marked "0", "1", "2", "3" for
different beam heights, "0" being the "normal" (and highest) position for when the car is lightly
loaded.
Internationalised ECE Regulation 48, in force in most of the world outside North America,
currently specifies a limited range within which the vertical aim of the headlamps must be
maintained under various vehicle load conditions; if the vehicle isn't equipped with an adaptive
suspension sufficient to keep the headlamps aimed correctly regardless of load, a headlamp
leveling system is required.[10] The regulation stipulates a more stringent version of this antiglare
measure if the vehicle has headlamps with low beam light source(s) that produce more than
2,000 lumens xenon bulbs and certain high-power halogens, for example. Such vehicles must
be equipped with headlamp self-leveling systems that sense the vehicle's degree of squat due
to cargo load and road inclination, and automatically adjust the headlamps' vertical aim to keep
the beam correctly oriented without any action required by the driver.
Leveling systems are not required by the North American regulations. A 2007 study, however,
suggests automatic levelers on all headlamps, not just those with high-power light sources,
would give drivers substantial safety benefits of better seeing and less glare.
These provide improved lighting for cornering. Some automobiles have their headlamps
connected to the steering mechanism so the lights will follow the movement of the front wheels.
Czech Tatra was an early implementer of such a technique, producing in the 1930s a vehicle
with a central directional headlamp. The American 1948 Tucker Sedan was likewise equipped
with a third central headlamp connected mechanically to the steering system.
The 1967 French Citron DS and 1970 Citron SM were equipped with an elaborate dynamic
headlamp positioning system that adjusted the inboard headlamps' horizontal and vertical
position in response to inputs from the vehicle's steering and suspension systems.
At that time US regulations required this system to be removed from those models sold in the
U.S.
The D series cars equipped with the system used cables connecting the long range headlamps
to a lever on the steering relay while the inner long range headlamps on the SM used a sealed
hydraulic system using a glycerin based fluid instead of mechanical cables. Both these systems
were of the same design as their respective cars' headlamp leveling systems. The cables of the
D system tended to rust in the cable sheaths while the SM system gradually leaked fluid,
causing the long range lamps to turn inward, looking "cross-eyed." A manual adjustment was
provided but once it was to the end of its travel the system required refilling with fluid or
replacement of the tubes and dashpots.
Citron SM non-US market vehicles were equipped with heating of the headlamp cover glasses,
this heat supplied by ducts carrying warm air from the radiator exhaust to the space between
the headlamp lenses and the cover glasses. This provided demisting/defogging of the entire
interior of the cover glasses, keeping the glass clear of mist/fog over the entire surface. The
glasses have thin stripes on their surfaces that are heated by the headlight beams; however, the

ducted warm air provides demisting when the headlamps are not turned on. The glasses' stripes
on both D and SM cars appear similar to rear windshield glass electric defogger heating strips,
but they are passive, not electrified
Beginning in the 2000s, there was a resurgence in interest in the idea of moving or optimizing
the headlight beam in response not only to vehicular steering and suspension dynamics, but
also to ambient weather and visibility conditions, vehicle speed, and road curvature and contour.
A task force under the EUREKAorganisation, composed primarily of European automakers,
lighting companies and regulators began working to develop design and performance
specifications for what is known as Adaptive Front-Lighting Systems, commonly AFS.
Manufacturers such as BMW, Toyota, koda and Vauxhall/Opel have released vehicles
equipped with AFS since 2003.
Rather than the mechanical linkages employed in earlier directional-headlamp systems, AFS
relies on electronic sensors, transducers and actuators. Other AFS techniques include special
auxiliary optical systems within a vehicle's headlamp housings. These auxiliary systems may be
switched on and off as the vehicle and operating conditions call for light or darkness at the
angles covered by the beam the auxiliary optics produce. A typical system measures steering
angle and vehicle speed to swivel the headlamps. The most advanced AFS systems
use GPS signals to anticipate changes in road curvature, rather than simply reacting to them.
Even when conditions would warrant the use of high-beam headlamps, drivers often do not use
them. There have long been efforts, particularly in America, to devise an effective automatic
beam selection system to relieve the driver of the need to select and activate the correct beam
as traffic, weather, and road conditions change. General Motors introduced the first automatic
headlight dimmer called the 'Autronic Eye' in 1952 on their Cadillac and Oldsmobile models; the
feature was offered in other GM vehicles starting in 1953. The system's photoresistor and
associated circuitry were housed in a gunsight-like tube atop the dashboard. An amplifier
module was located in the engine compartment that controlled the headlight relay using signals
from the dashboard-mounted tube unit.
This pioneering setup gave way in 1958 to a system called 'GuideMatic' in reference to
GM's Guide lighting division. The GuideMatic had a more compact dashtop housing and a
control knob that allowed the driver to adjust the system's sensitivity threshold to determine
when the headlamps would be dipped from high to low beam in response to an oncoming
vehicle. By the early 1970s, this option was withdrawn from all GM models except Cadillac, on
which GuideMatic was available through 1988. The photosensor for this system used an amber
lens, and the adoption of retro-reflective yellow road signs, such as for oncoming curves,
caused them to dim prematurely - possibly leading to their discontinuation.
Ford- and Chrysler-built vehicles were also available with the GM-made dimmers from the
1950s through the 1980s. A system called 'AutoDim' was offered on several Lincoln models
starting in the mid-1950s, and eventually the Ford Thunderbird and
some Mercury models offered it as well. Premium Chrysler andImperial models offered a
system called Automatic Beam Control throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

Though the systems based on photoresistors evolved, growing more compact and moving from
the dashboard to a less conspicuous location behind the radiator grill, they were still unable to
reliably discern headlamps from non-vehicular light sources such as streetlights. They also did
not dip to low beam when the driver approached a vehicle from behind, and they would
spuriously dip to low beam in response to road sign reflections of the vehicle's own high beam
headlamps. American inventor Jacob Rabinow devised and refined a scanning automatic
dimmer system impervious to streetlights and reflections, but no automaker purchased the
rights, and the problematic photoresistor type remained on the market through the late 1980s.
In 1956, the inventor Even P. Bone developed a system where a vane in front of each head light
moved automatically and caused a shadow in front of the approaching vehicle, allowing for high
beam use without glare for the approaching driver. The system, called "Bone-Midland Lamps,"
was never taken up by any car manufacturer.
Present systems based on imaging CMOS cameras can detect and respond appropriately to
leading and oncoming vehicles while disregarding streetlights, road signs, and other spurious
signals. Camera-based beam selection was first released in 2005 on the Jeep Grand Cherokee,
and has since then been incorporated into comprehensive driver assistance systems by
automakers worldwide. The headlights will dim when a bright reflection bounces off of a street
sign.
Intelligent Light System is a headlamp beam control system introduced in 2006 on
the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W211) which offers five different bi-xenon light functions, each of
which is suited to typical driving or weather conditions.

Automatic Headlamp Control

The automatic headlamps are activated through a photoelectric sensor which is embedded into
the instrument panel. The sensor is located at the base of the windshield under the defogger
grill. The sensitivity of the sensor is either set by the auto manufacturer or the driver. The sensor
is activated by the lighting conditions at dawn or dusk. The lights may switch off up to five
minutes after the engine has been turned off.
The driver has the ability to bypass the functions of the automatic headlamps by operating the
light switch or some other device in the car. If the driver inadvertently leaves the lights on, a
reminder chime will ring so the driver can turn them off.
However, there are 3 types/ designs developed by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler which fall
under the same principle.
The Automatic Light Control system (ACL) is a standard feature for 1999-2004 Oldsmobile
vehicles and an option for some Pontiac models. The sensitivity of the sensor and headlamp
delay are set at the factory and cannot be adjusted. Automatic Light Control turns the lights on
whenever the sensor, in the instrument panel, senses dark conditions. The system will activate
the lights when the car is driven in a enclosure, such as a parking garage. Heavy overcast
conditions can cause the lights to switch on. The headlamp off delay is twenty seconds. Fog

lamps, if equipped, will switch off when the driver turns off the engine Bypassing the system can
be accomplished by engaging the parking brake before starting the engine. Also after turning
the engine off, one can move the light switch from "auto" to "headlamps" and back to "auto"
again.

Lincoln-Mercury vehicles have used a system called "Auto-Lamp." A photocell is

used to activate the automatic headlamps whenever the conditions warrant. Its two
secondary features differentiate Auto-Lamp from General Motors' Automatic Light
Control system. The automatic headlight system can be bypassed at the light
switch. Secondly, Auto-Light has an exit delay feature, which keeps the interior and
exterior lights illuminated so the path to the driver's dwelling can be illuminated.
This was an optional feature (circa 1981 and 1982 model year) later made a
standard on the Mercury Grand Marquis.
Twilight Sentinel is one of the earliest forms of automatic headlamp features for
General Motors (Cadillac and Buick) and Chrysler cars. It dates back to 1964.
Twilight Sentinel uses an amplifier and a single photocell to gauge the light intensity
before switching the lights on. The 1980 Buick Buyer Guide states the headlights
will "stay on to light a path ahead of the car for three minutes," when the engine is
turned off. The driver can set the time length for the headlamp delay. According to
Imperial club, the Chrysler version of Twilight Sentinel will illuminate the reverse
lamps along with the headlamps. According to Chip Lamb, one uses the turn signal
to illuminate the corresponding side of the car, provided that the car is equipped
with side cornering lamps (Cadillac, Buick Riviera and Electra and Chrysler Imperial
feature). Cornering lamps are white lights on the leading portion of the front fender
of some luxury cars.

Turn Signal Lights

Turn signals formally called "direction indicators" or "directional signals", and informally known
as "directionals", "blinkers", "indicators" or "flashers"are blinking lamps mounted near the left
and right front and rear corners of a vehicle, and sometimes on the sides, activated by the driver
on one side of the vehicle at a time to advertise intent to turn or change lanes towards that side.
Electric turn-signal lights date from as early as 1907. The modern flashing turn signal was
patented in 1938 and later most major automobile manufacturers offered this feature. As of
2013 most countries require turn signals on all new vehicles that are driven on public
roadways Alternative systems of hand signals were used earlier, and remain common
for bicycles. Hand signals are also sometimes used when regular vehicle lights are
malfunctioning or for older vehicles that are not so equipped.
Some cars from the 1920s to early 1960s used retractable semaphores called trafficators rather
than flashing lights. They were commonly mounted high up behind the front doors and swung
out horizontally. However, they were fragile and could be easily broken off and also had a
tendency to stick in the closed position.

As with all vehicle lighting and signalling devices, turn-signal lights must comply with technical
standards that stipulate minimum and maximum permissible intensity levels, minimum
horizontal and vertical angles of visibility, and minimum illuminated surface area to ensure that
they are visible at all relevant angles, do not dazzle those who view them, and are suitably
conspicuous in conditions ranging from full darkness to full direct sunlight.
In most countries, cars must be equipped with side-mounted turn signal repeaters to make the
turn indication visible laterally rather than just to the front and rear of the vehicle. These are
permitted, but not required in the US. As an alternative in both the United States and Canada,
the front amber side marker lights may be wired to flash with the turn signals, but this also is not
mandatory. In recent years, many automakers have been incorporating side turn signal devices
into the sideview mirror housings, rather than mounting them on the vehicle's fenders. Some
evidence suggests these mirror-mounted turn signals may be more effective than fendermounted items.[47]
Turn signals are required to blink on and off, or "flash", at a steady rate of between 60 and 120
blinks per minute (12 Hz). International UN Regulations require that all turn signals flash in
simultaneous phase; US regulations permit side marker lights wired for side turn signal
functionality to flash in opposite-phase. An audio and/or visual tell-tale indicator is required, to
advise the driver when the turn signals are activated and operating. This usually takes the form
of one or two green indicator lights on the vehicle's instrument cluster, and a cyclical "tick-tock"
noise generated electromechanically or electronically. It is also required that the vehicle
operator be alerted by much faster- or slower-than-normal flashing in the event a turn signal
light fails.
Turn signals are in almost every case activated by a horizontal lever (or "stalk") protruding from
the side of the steering column, though on some vehicles it protrudes from the dashboard. The
outboard end of the stalk is pushed clockwise to activate the right turn signals, or anticlockwise
for the left turn signals. In most cases, the signal stalk is on the outboard side of the column: the
left side in a left-hand drive car, or the right side in a right-hand drive car. Regulations do not
specify a mandatory location for the turn signal control, only that it be visible and operable by
the belted-in driver, andat least in North Americathat it be labelled with a specific symbol if it
is not located on the left side of the steering column. The international UN Regulations do not
include analogous specifications.
Virtually all vehicles (except many motorcycles and commercial semi-tractors) have a turnindicator self-cancelling feature that returns the lever to the neutral (no signal) position as the
steering wheel approaches the straight-ahead position after a turn has been made. Beginning in
the late 1960s, indicating for a lane change was facilitated by the addition of a spring-loaded
momentary signal-on position just shy of the left and right detents. The signal operates for
however long the driver holds the lever partway towards the left or right turn signal detent. Some
recent vehicles have an automatic lane-change indication feature; tapping the lever partway
towards the left or right signal position and immediately releasing it causes the applicable turn
indicators to flash three to five times.
Some transit buses, such as those in New York, have had, since at least the 1950s, turn signals
activated by floor-mounted momentary-contact footswitches on the floor near the driver's left

foot (on left-hand drive buses). The foot-activated signals allow bus drivers to keep both hands
on the steering wheel while watching the road and scanning for passengers as they approach a
bus stop. New York City Transit bus drivers, among others, are trained to step continuously on
the right directional switch while servicing a bus stop, to signal other road users they are
intentionally dwelling at the stop, allowing following buses to skip that stop.[51] This method of
signalling requires no special arrangements for self-cancellation or passing.
Sequential turn signals are a feature on some cars wherein the turn-signal function is provided
by multiple lit elements that illuminate sequentially rather than simultaneously: the innermost
lamp lights and remains illuminated, the next outermost lamp lights and remains illuminated,
followed by the next outermost lamp and so on until the outermost lamp lights briefly, at which
point all lamps extinguish together and, after a short pause, the cycle begins again. The visual
effect is one of outward motion in the direction of the intended turn or lane change. Sequential
turn signals have been factory-installed only on cars with red combination stop/turn lamps. They
were factory fitted to 1965 through 1971-model Ford Thunderbirds, to 19671973 Mercury
Cougars, to Shelby Mustangs between 1967 and 1970, to 1969 Imperials, to the Japanesemarket 19711972 Nissan Cedric, and to Ford Mustangs since 2010.
Two different systems were employed. The earlier, fitted to the 1965 through 1968 Ford-built
cars and the 19711972 Nissan Cedric, employed an electric motor driving, through reduction
gearing, a set of three slow-turning cams. These cams would actuate switches to turn on the
lights in sequence. Later Ford cars and the 1969 Imperial used a transistorised control module
with no moving parts to wear, break, or go out of adjustment.
FMVSS 108 has been officially interpreted as requiring all light-sources in an active turn signal
to illuminate simultaneously. However, the 2010 and newer Ford Mustangs are equipped with
sequential turn signals.
Until the early 1960s, most front turn signals worldwide emitted white light and most rear turn
signals emitted red. The auto industry in the USA voluntarily adopted amber front-turn signals
for most vehicles beginning in the 1963 model year, though the advent of amber signals was
accompanied by legal stumbles in some states and front turn signals were still legally permitted
to emit white light until FMVSS 108 took effect for the 1968 model year, whereupon amber
became the only permissible front turn signal colour. Presently, most countries outside of the
United States and Canada require that all front, side and rear turn signals produce amber light.
Exceptions include Switzerland.
In Canada and the US the rear signals may be amber or red. American regulators and other
proponents of red rear turn signals have historically asserted there is no proven safety benefit to
amber signals, though it has been recognized since the 1960s that amber turn signals are more
quickly spotted than red ones. International proponents of amber rear signals say they are more
easily discernible as turn signals, and U.S. studies in the early 1990s demonstrated
improvements in the speed and accuracy of following drivers' reaction to stop lamps when the
turn signals were amber rather than red.
A 2008 U.S. study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests
vehicles with amber rear signals rather than red ones are up to 28% less likely to be involved in

certain kinds of collisions, and a 2009 NHTSA study determined there is a significant overall
safety benefit to amber rather than red rear turn signals.
There is some evidence that turn signals with colourless clear lenses and amber bulbs may be
less conspicuous in bright sunlight than those with amber lenses and colourless bulbs.
The amber bulbs commonly used in turn signals with colourless lenses are no longer made
with cadmium glass, since various regulations worldwide, including the
European RoHSdirective, banned cadmium because of its toxicity. Amber glass made without
cadmium is relatively costly, so most amber bulbs are now made with clear glass dipped in an
amber coating. Some of these coatings are not as durable as the bulbs themselves; with
prolonged heat-cool cycles, the coating may flake off the bulb glass, or its colour may fade. This
causes the turn signal to emit white light rather than the required amber light.
The international regulation on motor vehicle bulbs requires manufacturers to test bulbs for
colour endurance. However, no test protocol or colour durability requirement is specified.
Discussion is ongoing within the Groupe des Rapporteurs d'clairage, the UNECE working
group on vehicular lighting regulation, to develop and implement a colour durability standard.
Rather than using an amber bulb, some signal lamps contain an inner amber plastic enclosure
between a colourless bulb and the colourless outer lens.

Fiber-optic Lighting
fiber optics. Technology based on the use of hair-thin, transparent, fibers to transmit light or
infrared signals. The fibers are flexible and consist of a core of optically transparent glass or
plastic, surrounded by a glass or plastic cladding that reflects the light signals back into the
core.
An optical fiber (or optical fibre) is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica)
or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most
often as a means to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiberoptic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at
higher bandwidths (data rates) than wire cables. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because
signals travel along them with lesser amounts of loss; in addition, fibers are also immune to
electromagnetic interference, a problem from which metal wires suffer excessively. Fibers are
also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so that they may be used to carry
images, thus allowing viewing in confined spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope. Specially
designed fibers are also used for a variety of other applications, some of them being fiber optic
sensors and fiber lasers.
Optical fibers typically include a transparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding material
with a lower index of refraction. Light is kept in the core by the phenomenon of total internal
reflection which causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers that support many propagation
paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those that support a single
mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a wider core
diameter and are used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high

power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer
than 1,000 meters (3,300 ft).
An important aspect of a fiber optic communication is that of extension of the fiber optic cables
such that the losses brought about by joining two different cables is kept to a minimum. Joining
lengths of optical fiber often proves to be more complex than joining electrical wire or cable and
involves careful cleaving of the fibers, perfect alignment of the fiber cores, and the splicing of
these aligned fiber cores. For applications that demand a permanent connection a mechanical
splice which holds the ends of the fibers together mechanically could be used or a fusion
splice that uses heat to fuse the ends of the fibers together could be used. Temporary or semipermanent connections are made by means of specialized optical fiber connectors.
The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of
optical fibers is known as fiber optics.
Guiding of light by refraction, the principle that makes fiber optics possible, was first
demonstrated by Daniel Colladon and Jacques Babinet in Paris in the early 1840s.John
Tyndall included a demonstration of it in his public lectures in London, 12 years later. Tyndall
also wrote about the property of total internal reflection in an introductory book about the nature
of light in 1870:
When the light passes from air into water, the refracted ray is bent towards the perpendicular...
When the ray passes from water to air it is bent from the perpendicular... If the angle which the
ray in water encloses with the perpendicular to the surface be greater than 48 degrees, the ray
will not quit the water at all: it will be totally reflected at the surface.... The angle which marks the
limit where total reflection begins is called the limiting angle of the medium. For water this angle
is 4827, for flint glass it is 3841, while for diamond it is 2342.
Unpigmented human hairs have also been shown to act as an optical fiber.
Practical applications, such as close internal illumination during dentistry, appeared early in the
twentieth century. Image transmission through tubes was demonstrated independently by the
radio experimenter Clarence Hansell and the television pioneer John Logie Baird in the 1920s.
The principle was first used for internal medical examinations by Heinrich Lamm in the following
decade. Modern optical fibers, where the glass fiber is coated with a transparent cladding to
offer a more suitable refractive index, appeared later in the decade.[9] Development then focused
on fiber bundles for image transmission. Harold Hopkins and Narinder Singh Kapany at Imperial
College in London achieved low-loss light transmission through a 75 cm long bundle which
combined several thousand fibers. Their article titled "A flexible fibrescope, using static
scanning" was published in the journal Nature in 1954. The first fiber optic semiflexible gastroscope was patented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters, and Lawrence E.
Curtiss, researchers at the University of Michigan, in 1956. In the process of developing the
gastroscope, Curtiss produced the first glass-clad fibers; previous optical fibers had relied on air
or impractical oils and waxes as the low-index cladding material.
A variety of other image transmission applications soon followed.
In 1880 Alexander Graham Bell and Sumner Tainter invented the Photophone at the Volta
Laboratory in Washington, D.C., to transmit voice signals over an optical beam. It was an

advanced form of telecommunications, but subject to atmospheric interferences and impractical

until the secure transport of light that would be offered by fiber-optical systems. In the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, light was guided through bent glass rods to illuminate body
cavities. Jun-ichi Nishizawa, a Japanese scientist at Tohoku University, also proposed the use
of optical fibers for communications in 1963, as stated in his book published in 2004
in India. Nishizawa invented other technologies that contributed to the development of optical
fiber communications, such as the graded-index optical fiber as a channel for transmitting light
from semiconductor lasers. The first working fiber-optical data transmission system was
demonstrated by German physicist Manfred Brner at Telefunken Research Labs in Ulm in
1965, which was followed by the first patent application for this technology in 1966. NASA used
fiber optics in the television cameras that were sent to the moon. At the time, the use in the
cameras was classified confidential, and employees handling the cameras had to be supervised
by someone with an appropriate security clearance.
Charles K. Kao and George A. Hockham of the British company Standard Telephones and
Cables (STC) were the first to promote the idea that the attenuation in optical fibers could be
reduced below 20 decibels per kilometer (dB/km), making fibers a practical communication
medium. They proposed that the attenuation in fibers available at the time was caused by
impurities that could be removed, rather than by fundamental physical effects such as
scattering. They correctly and systematically theorized the light-loss properties for optical fiber,
and pointed out the right material to use for such fibers silica glass with high purity. This
discovery earned Kao the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009.
The crucial attenuation limit of 20 dB/km was first achieved in 1970, by researchers Robert D.
Maurer, Donald Keck, Peter C. Schultz, and Frank Zimar working for American glass maker
Corning Glass Works, now Corning Incorporated. They demonstrated a fiber with 17 dB/km
attenuation by doping silica glass with titanium. A few years later they produced a fiber with only
4 dB/km attenuation using germanium dioxide as the core dopant. Such low attenuation
ushered in the era of optical fiber telecommunication. In 1981, General Electric produced
fused quartz ingots that could be drawn into strands 25 miles (40 km) long.
The Italian research center CSELT worked with Corning to develop practical optical fiber cables,
resulting in the first metropolitan fiber optic cable being deployed in Torino in 1977. CSELT also
developed an early technique for splicing optical fibers, called Springroove.
Attenuation in modern optical cables is far less than in electrical copper cables, leading to longhaul fiber connections with repeater distances of 70150 kilometers (4393 mi). The erbiumdoped fiber amplifier, which reduced the cost of long-distance fiber systems by reducing or
eliminating optical-electrical-optical repeaters, was co-developed by teams led by David N.
Payne of the University of Southampton and Emmanuel Desurvire at Bell Labs in 1986. Robust
modern optical fiber uses glass for both core and sheath, and is therefore less prone to aging. It
was invented by Gerhard Bernsee of Schott Glass in Germany in 1973.
The emerging field of photonic crystals led to the development in 1991 of photonic-crystal
fiber, which guides light by diffraction from a periodic structure, rather than by total internal
reflection. The first photonic crystal fibers became commercially available in 2000. Photonic

crystal fibers can carry higher power than conventional fibers and their wavelength-dependent
properties can be manipulated to improve performance.

Computer Controlled Lighting

A lighting control system is an intelligent network based lighting control solution that
incorporates communication between various system inputs and outputs related to lighting
control with the use of one or more central computing devices. Lighting control systems are
widely used on both indoor and outdoor lighting of commercial, industrial, and residential
spaces. Lighting control systems serve to provide the right amount of light where and when it is
needed.
Lighting control systems are employed to maximize the energy savings from the lighting system,
satisfy building codes, or comply with green building and energy conservation programs.
Lighting control systems are often referred to under the term Smart Lighting.
The term lighting controls is typically used to indicate stand-alone control of the lighting within a
space. This may include occupancy sensors, time clocks, and photocells that are hard-wired to
control fixed groups of lights independently. Adjustment occurs manually at each devices
location. The efficiency of and market for residential lighting controls has been characterized by
the Consortium for Energy Efficiency.
The term lighting control system refers to an intelligent networked system of devices related to
lighting control. These devices may include relays, occupancy sensors, photocells, light control
switches or touchscreens, and signals from other building systems (such as fire
alarm or HVAC). Adjustment of the system occurs both at device locations and at central
computer locations via software programs or other interface devices.
The major advantage of a lighting control system over stand-alone lighting controls or
conventional manual switching is the ability to control individual lights or groups of lights from a
single user interface device. This ability to control multiple light sources from a user device
allows complex lighting scenes to be created. A room may have multiple scenes pre-set, each
one created for different activities in the room. A major benefit of lighting control systems is
reduced energy consumption. Longer lamp life is also gained when dimming and switching off
lights when not in use. Wireless lighting control systems provide additional benefits including
reduced installation costs and increased flexibility over where switches and sensors may be
placed.
Lighting control systems typically provide the ability to automatically adjust a lighting device's
output based on:

Chronological time (time of day)

Astronomical time (sunrise/sunset)

Occupancy using occupancy sensors

Daylight availability using photocells

Alarm conditions

Program logic (combination of events)

Chronological time schedules incorporate specific times of the day, week, month, or year.
Astronomical time schedules incorporate sunrise and sunset times, often used to switch outdoor
lighting. Astronomical time scheduling requires that the location of the building be set. This is
accomplished using the building's geographic location via either latitude and longitude or by
picking the nearest city in a given database giving the approximate location and corresponding
astronomical times.
Space occupancy is primarily determined with occupancy sensors.
Electric lighting energy use can be adjusted by automatically dimming and/or switching electric
lights in response to the level of available daylight. Reducing the amount of electric lighting used
when daylight is available is known as daylight harvesting.
Alarm conditions typically include inputs from other building systems such as the fire
alarm or HVAC system, which may trigger an emergency 'all lights on' command for example.
Program logic can tie all of the above elements together using constructs such as if-thenelse statements and logical operators.
In the 1980s there was a strong requirement to make commercial lighting more controllable so
that it could become more energy efficient. Initially this was done with analog control,
allowing fluorescent ballasts and dimmers to be controlled from a central source. This was a
step in the right direction, but cabling was complicated and therefore not cost effective.
Tridonic was an early company to go digital with their broadcast protocols, DSI, in
1991. DSI was a basic protocol as it transmitted one control value to change the brightness of
all the fixtures attached to the line. What made this protocol more attractive, and able to
compete with the established analog option, was the simple wiring.
There are two types of lighting control systems which are:

Analog lighting control

Digital lighting control

Examples for analog lighting control systems are:

0-10V based system.

AMX192 based systems (often referred to as AMX) (USA standard).

D54 based systems (European standard).

In production lighting 0-10V system was replaced by analog multiplexed systems such as D54
and AMX192, which themselves have been almost completely replaced by DMX512. For
dimmable fluorescent lamps (where it operates instead at 1-10 V, where 1 V is minimum and 0
V is off) the system is being replaced by DSI, which itself is in the process of being replaced by
DALI.
Examples for digital lighting control systems are:

DALI based systems

DSI based system

DMX based systems (often referred to as DMX512).

KNX based systems

Those are all wired lighting control system. There is also a wireless lighting control system that
is based on some standard protocols like MIDI, ZigBee, Bluetooth, and others.

Distributed lighting System

In distributive light systems, the light from a single source is sent via optical fibres or light
guides to wherever it is needed in the automobile. Light guides are commonly used to
distributively light dashboard displays, and premium vehicles are beginning to use distributive
systems for lighting such items as door locks, window controls, and cup holders. Distributive
exterior lighting has also been explored, with high-intensity central light sources.
Automatic systems for activating the headlamps have been available since the mid1960s, originally only on luxury American models such as Lincoln, Cadillac, and Imperial. Basic
implementations turn the headlights on at dusk and off at dawn. Modern implementations use
sensors to detect the amount of exterior light.
The 1948 Citroen 2CV was launched in France with a manual headlamp leveling system,
controlled by the driver with knob through a mechanical rod linkage. This allowed the driver to
adjust the vertical aim of the headlamps to compensate for the passenger and cargo load in the
vehicle. In 1954, Cibi introduced an automatic headlamp leveling system linked to the vehicle's
suspension system to keep the headlamps correctly aimed regardless of vehicle load, without
driver intervention. The first vehicle to be so equipped was the Panhard Dyna Z. Beginning in
the 1970s, Germany and some other European countries began requiring remote-control
headlamp leveling systems that permit the driver to lower the lamps' aim by means of a
dashboard control lever or knob if the rear of the vehicle is weighted down with passengers or
cargo, which would tend to raise the lamps' aim angle and create glare. Such systems typically
use stepper motors at the headlamp and a rotary switch on the dash marked "0", "1", "2", "3" for
different beam heights, "0" being the "normal" (and highest) position for when the car is lightly
loaded.
Internationalised ECE Regulation 48, in force in most of the world outside North America,
currently specifies a limited range within which the vertical aim of the headlamps must be
maintained under various vehicle load conditions; if the vehicle isn't equipped with an adaptive
suspension sufficient to keep the headlamps aimed correctly regardless of load, a headlamp
leveling system is required. The regulation stipulates a more stringent version of this antiglare
measure if the vehicle has headlamps with low beam light source(s) that produce more than

2,000 lumens xenon bulbs and certain high-power halogens, for example. Such vehicles must
be equipped with headlamp self-leveling systems that sense the vehicle's degree of squat due
to cargo load and road inclination, and automatically adjust the headlamps' vertical aim to keep
the beam correctly oriented without any action required by the driver.
Leveling systems are not required by the North American regulations. A 2007 study, however,
suggests automatic levelers on all headlamps, not just those with high-power light sources,
would give drivers substantial safety benefits of better seeing and less glare.
These provide improved lighting for cornering. Some automobiles have their headlamps
connected to the steering mechanism so the lights will follow the movement of the front wheels.
Czech Tatra was an early implementer of such a technique, producing in the 1930s a vehicle
with a central directional headlamp. The American 1948 Tucker Sedan was likewise equipped
with a third central headlamp connected mechanically to the steering system.
The 1967 French Citron DS and 1970 Citron SM were equipped with an elaborate dynamic
headlamp positioning system that adjusted the inboard headlamps' horizontal and vertical
position in response to inputs from the vehicle's steering and suspension systems.
At that time US regulations required this system to be removed from those models sold in the
U.S.
The D series cars equipped with the system used cables connecting the long range headlamps
to a lever on the steering relay while the inner long range headlamps on the SM used a sealed
hydraulic system using a glycerin based fluid instead of mechanical cables. Both these systems
were of the same design as their respective cars' headlamp leveling systems. The cables of the
D system tended to rust in the cable sheaths while the SM system gradually leaked fluid,
causing the long range lamps to turn inward, looking "cross-eyed." A manual adjustment was
provided but once it was to the end of its travel the system required refilling with fluid or
replacement of the tubes and dashpots.
Citron SM non-US market vehicles were equipped with heating of the headlamp cover glasses,
this heat supplied by ducts carrying warm air from the radiator exhaust to the space between
the headlamp lenses and the cover glasses. This provided demisting/defogging of the entire
interior of the cover glasses, keeping the glass clear of mist/fog over the entire surface. The
glasses have thin stripes on their surfaces that are heated by the headlight beams; however, the
ducted warm air provides demisting when the headlamps are not turned on. The glasses' stripes
on both D and SM cars appear similar to rear windshield glass electric defogger heating strips,
but they are passive, not electrified.
Beginning in the 2000s, there was a resurgence in interest in the idea of moving or optimizing
the headlight beam in response not only to vehicular steering and suspension dynamics, but
also to ambient weather and visibility conditions, vehicle speed, and road curvature and contour.
A task force under the EUREKA organisation, composed primarily of European automakers,
lighting companies and regulators began working to develop design and performance
specifications for what is known as Adaptive Front-Lighting Systems, commonly AFS.

Manufacturers such as BMW, Toyota, koda and Vauxhall/Opel have released vehicles
equipped with AFS since 2003.
Rather than the mechanical linkages employed in earlier directional-headlamp systems, AFS
relies on electronic sensors, transducers and actuators. Other AFS techniques include special
auxiliary optical systems within a vehicle's headlamp housings. These auxiliary systems may be
switched on and off as the vehicle and operating conditions call for light or darkness at the
angles covered by the beam the auxiliary optics produce. A typical system measures steering
angle and vehicle speed to swivel the headlamps. The most advanced AFS systems
use GPS signals to anticipate changes in road curvature, rather than simply reacting to them.
Even when conditions would warrant the use of high-beam headlamps, drivers often do not use
them. There have long been efforts, particularly in America, to devise an effective automatic
beam selection system to relieve the driver of the need to select and activate the correct beam
as traffic, weather, and road conditions change. General Motors introduced the first automatic
headlight dimmer called the 'Autronic Eye' in 1952 on their Cadillac and Oldsmobile models; the
feature was offered in other GM vehicles starting in 1953. The system's photo resistor and
associated circuitry were housed in a gunsight-like tube atop the dashboard. An amplifier
module was located in the engine compartment that controlled the headlight relay using signals
from the dashboard-mounted tube unit.
This pioneering setup gave way in 1958 to a system called 'GuideMatic' in reference to
GM's Guide lighting division. The GuideMatic had a more compact dashtop housing and a
control knob that allowed the driver to adjust the system's sensitivity threshold to determine
when the headlamps would be dipped from high to low beam in response to an oncoming
vehicle. By the early 1970s, this option was withdrawn from all GM models except Cadillac, on
which GuideMatic was available through 1988. The photosensor for this system used an amber
lens, and the adoption of retro-reflective yellow road signs, such as for oncoming curves,
caused them to dim prematurely - possibly leading to their discontinuation.
Ford- and Chrysler-built vehicles were also available with the GM-made dimmers from the
1950s through the 1980s. A system called 'AutoDim' was offered on several Lincoln models
starting in the mid-1950s, and eventually the Ford Thunderbird and
some Mercury models offered it as well. Premium Chrysler andImperial models offered a
system called Automatic Beam Control throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.
Though the systems based on photo resistors evolved, growing more compact and moving from
the dashboard to a less conspicuous location behind the radiator grill, they were still unable to
reliably discern headlamps from non-vehicular light sources such as streetlights. They also did
not dip to low beam when the driver approached a vehicle from behind, and they would
spuriously dip to low beam in response to road sign reflections of the vehicle's own high beam
headlamps. American inventor Jacob Rabinow devised and refined a scanning automatic
dimmer system impervious to streetlights and reflections, but no automaker purchased the
rights, and the problematic photo resistor type remained on the market through the late 1980s.
In 1956, the inventor Even P. Bone developed a system where a vane in front of each head light
moved automatically and caused a shadow in front of the approaching vehicle, allowing for high

beam use without glare for the approaching driver. The system, called "Bone-Midland Lamps,"
was never taken up by any car manufacturer.
Present systems based on imaging CMOS cameras can detect and respond appropriately to
leading and oncoming vehicles while disregarding streetlights, road signs, and other spurious
signals. Camera-based beam selection was first released in 2005 on the Jeep Grand Cherokee,
and has since then been incorporated into comprehensive driver assistance systems by
automakers worldwide. The headlights will dim when a bright reflection bounces off of a street
sign.
Intelligent Light System is a headlamp beam control system introduced in 2006 on
the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W211) which offers five different bi-xenon light functions, each of
which is suited to typical driving or weather conditions:

Country mode

Motorway mode

Enhanced fog lamps

Active light function (Advanced front-lighting system (AFS))

Cornering light function

Adaptive Highbeam Assist is Mercedes-Benz' marketing name for a headlight control strategy
that continuously automatically tailors the headlamp range so the beam just reaches other
vehicles ahead, thus always ensuring maximum possible seeing range without glaring other
road users. To the distance of vehicles ahead. It was first launched in the Mercedes E-class in
2009. It provides a continuous range of beam reach from a low-aimed low beam to a high-aimed
high beam, rather than the traditional binary choice between low and high beams.
The range of the beam can vary between 65 and 300 meters, depending on traffic conditions. In
traffic, the low beam cutoff position is adjusted vertically to maximize seeing range while
keeping glare out of leading and oncoming drivers' eyes. When no traffic is close enough for
glare to be a problem, the system provides full high beam. Headlamps are adjusted every 40
milliseconds by a camera on the inside of the front windscreen which can determine distance to
other vehicles. The S-Class, CLS-Class and C-Class also offer this technology. In the CLS, the
adaptive high beam is realised with LED headlamps - the first vehicle producing all adaptive
light functions with LEDs. Since 2010 some Audi models with Xenon headlamps are offering a
similar system: adaptive light with variable headlight range control.[111]
In Japan, the Toyota Crown, Toyota Crown Majesta, Nissan Fuga and Nissan Cima offer the
technology on top level models.
Glare-free high beam is a camera-driven dynamic lighting control strategy that selectively
shades spots and slices out of the high beam pattern to protect other road users from glare,
while always providing the driver with maximum seeing range. The area surrounding other road

users is constantly illuminated at high beam intensity, but without the glare that would result
from using uncontrolled high beams in traffic. This constantly changing beam pattern requires
complex sensors, microprocessors and actuators, because the vehicles which must be
shadowed out of the beam are constantly moving. The dynamic shadowing can be achieved
with movable shadow masks shifted within the light path inside the headlamp. Or, the effect can
be achieved by selectively darkening addressable LED emitters or reflector elements, a
technique known as 'Pixel light'.
The first mechanically controlled (non-LED), glare-free high beam: "Dynamic Light Assist"
package introduced in 2010 on the Volkswagen Touaregthe Phaeton, and Passat. In 2012,
the facelift Lexus LS (XF40) introduced an identical Bi-Xenon system: Adaptive High-beam
System.
The first mechanically controlled LED glare free headlamps introduced in 2012 on BMW 7
Series: Selective Beam (anti-dazzle High-Beam Assistant).In 2013 MercedesBenz introduced the same LED system: Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus.
The first digitally controlled LED glare free headlamps introduced in 2013 on Audi A8.

Headlamp Aiming
The aiming of the headlamps is a critical component of the vehicle setup. The repeatability of
the aim for a headlamp was vital to the reduction of uncertainty caused by the lighting
conditions. The general methods for the aiming of all of the headlamps. Specific methods are
shown in each of the ENV experimental reports.
Each light assembly movement required a re-aiming process, which took place before starting
the experimental session each night. Headlamps are designed so that the system may be either
visually optically aligned (VOA) or mechanically aimed. At the beginning of the ENV project, a
headlamp aimer was not available, so an aiming protocol that could be used with either type of
system was developed with the help of experts in the field. The method used for this project is a
modified version of the typical SAE aiming method.
The aiming method required the selection of a reference point and then the aiming of the
headlamp beam relative to that reference point. No standard is available for the aiming of UVA
headlamps, so a similar method was selected for these headlamp types. For this procedure, an

alignment board was placed 10.7 m (35 ft) from the experimental vehicle. This distance, which
is a departure from the 7.6-m (25-ft) vehicle distance used by the SAE methodology, was
selected during the original ENV process and maintained throughout the investigation for all of
the aimed headlamps. The 10.7-m (35-ft) distance was the maximum possible in the aiming
area at the contractor's facility. A comparison of alignment at the two distances was performed
to ensure validity of the methodology.
The alignment board was marked with each headlamp system's reference points, which were
chosen following SAE J599, 1997.(10) The horizontal position (side to side) of the reference point
was directly in front of the vehicle coincident with the vertical optical centerline of the headlamp
(usually denoted on the headlamp as a circle or a cross etched into the lens). The vertical
position (up and down) of the reference point depended on the height of the experimental
vehicle. The SAE specifies that if the optical center of the headlamp, or optical center height
(OCH), is less than 90 cm (36 inches) above the roadway surface, then the reference point
should be at the same height as the optical center. If the optical center is more than 90 cm (36
inches) above the roadway surface, the reference point should be 5 cm (2 inches) below the
headlamp optical center. These reference points were adjusted for the greater alignment
distance.(10) Figure 6 shows a comparison between the 7.6-m (25-ft) and 10.7-m (35-ft)
alignment distances. The units, a mix of English and the International System of Units, are
prescribed by the SAE guidelines.
There are two subtypes of the visually optically aligned (VOA) systems, visually optically aligned
left (VOL) and visually optically aligned right (VOR). VOL headlamps are aimed so that the
sharp cutoff of the light pattern on the left of the lamp is aimed to a vertical aiming plane. VOR
headlamps are aimed using the right portion of the beam as the reference. VOL systems have a
vertical aiming plane 0.6 below the vertical reference point on the alignment board. VOR
systems have a vertical aiming plane at the same height as the reference point. Figure
7 and figure 8 show the aiming planes used.
The HLB, HOH, and HHB headlamps used in this study were mechanically aimed systems. With
this type of headlamp, the reference for the position of the headlamp is based on three aiming
pads located on the lens of the luminaire. These pads and measurements shown on the
headlamp are used with a mechanical aiming device. Optical aimers that analyze the beam
pattern and set the maximum luminous intensity of the headlamp beam to a specified location
also can be used to aim this type of headlamp.
For this investigation, neither an optical aimer nor a mechanical aimer was available. It was
decided that an illuminance meter with a remote sensor would be used to find the maximum
luminous intensity of the beam, and then the headlamps would be aimed so that this maximum
point was located at a selected point relative to the reference point. As with the VOA headlamps,
the reference point was chosen as specified by SAE J599, 1997. (10) The point selected for the
maximum luminous intensity of the beam was at 2.5 cm (1 inch) to the right and 2.5 cm (1 inch)
below this reference point at the 10.7-m (35-ft) alignment distance. The sensor element of an
illuminance meter was positioned at this point while the headlamp was slowly adjusted to
determine the orientation at which the maximum luminous intensity of the beam (hotspot) was
directed toward the selected point

During the measurements made as part of this characterization, it was discovered that this is
not the typical location for the maximum luminous intensity of the beam. Although not an exact
specification, SAE 1383, 1996, shows that the maximum allowable luminous intensity of the
beam should be located approximately 1.5 down and 2 to the right of the reference point
(table 3A of SAE 1383 1996).(11) At 10.7 m (35 ft), these dimensions translate to 27.9 cm (11
inches) down and 37.2 cm (14.7 inches) to the right, the location used by optical aimers.(9) This
means that the aiming of the HLB, HOH, and HHB all have a deviation of approximately 1.36
above and 1.77 to the left of the typical point of maximum luminous intensity. This deviation
was consistent across all of the studies performed with these headlamps.
To investigate the magnitude of this deviation, a review of the literature was undertaken, and
two sources were found: the SAE standard and a fleet misaim investigation performed by
Copenhaver and Jones.(12) In the SAE J599 1997 standard, an allowance of 10 cm (4 inches) of
variance was defined around the reference point at an alignment distance of 25 ft (7.62 m). This
means the HLB, HOH, and HHB aiming points used in this study were 0.6 degrees above and
1.0 degrees to the left of the extreme upper left position defined by the SAE aiming variance
guidelines.(10)
Copenhaver and Jones investigated the typical amount of misaim found in the vehicle
population to establish the variability that exists in the real world.(12) In this study, the headlight
aim of 768 vehicles was measured. The mean result for misaim was 0.36 cm (0.143 inches) up
and 2.01 cm (0.82 inches) left for the left headlamp and 0.59 cm (0.23 inches) up and 3.46 cm
(1.36 inches) left for the right headlamp. The standard deviation (SD) of these measurements
was 8.71 cm (3.43 inches) vertically and 7.14 cm (2.81 inches) horizontally for the left headlamp
and 8.56 cm (3.37 inches) vertically and 7.67 cm (3.02 inches) horizontally for the right
headlamp. Note that these dimensions refer to a misaim at the typical aiming distance of 7.6 m
(25 ft). The misaim in the ENV project was within three standard deviations of the mean of this
data. Figure 10 shows the ENV misaim in relation to the Copenhaver and Jones data and the
SAE allowable misaim. In this figure, the (0,0) reference point is the proper aiming location. The
blue, pink, and green areas refer to one, two, and three standard deviations, respectively,
according to the Copenhaver and Jones data, and the purple box is the SAE variance region. It
can be seen that the aiming point used in the ENV investigation is within the third standard
deviation area of the Copenhaver and Jones data.
The effect of this aiming variance on the results of the visibility experiments varied for each
study. For the HLB and the HOH lamp types, the selected aim point likely resulted in greater
illumination at points farther down the road, which in turn may have increased the detection
distances and glare ratings. The HHB aiming may have actually reduced the amount of light
reaching the objects on the roadway and reflected back to the observers, possibly decreasing
the detection distances and glare ratings; however, it is not known what effect the aiming had on
the results for the various weather conditions tested (ENV Volumes IV, V, VI, and XIV).
As mentioned, there is no standard method for aiming UVA headlamps. The method
developed for this project was to aim each headlamp straight ahead of the vehicle. The
reference points were selected in a similar method to the visible light headlamps. During the
aiming process, a UVA radiance meter was used to find the maximum radiant intensity output
from the headlamp. Because of the headlamp mounting mechanism, a wider margin of error

was selected for the UVA headlamps; the hotspot was then aimed within 5 cm (2 inches) of the
reference point.