Sometimes the road is not clearly visible and no amount of illumination from a standard headlight
can assist the driver. A few examples of such situations are snow covered roads, roads without
lane markings or shoulders, and poorly lit roads. Our prototype can be used to brightly illuminate
only the driver's lane to provide them with a visual guide. Opposing lanes, curbs, and sidewalks
can be illuminated to create a strong contrast with the driver's lane and also provide
sufficient illumination to see obstacles.
Images do not need to be captured or analyzed and objects do not need to be tracked. After
computing the homography with the road plane, the headlight acts only as an illumination device.
For proof-of-concept, illumination patterns were pre-determined for the stretch of road where
experience were conducted. In practice, the position and speed of the vehicle will be used to
dynamically determine the illumination patterns required for the road. [direct link to illustration above]
Concept:
With the high resolution of the spatial light modulator, it is possible to shape the headlight
beam to match the contour of any curvy road, lane or sidewalk, increasing visibility of the road
when there are no road markings, or when the road markings are not visible in snowing conditions.
[direct video link]
On Dark Roads: Driving lanes on poorly lit roads can be made more visible to the driver. Our headlight provides an illumination pathway to follow when the road is difficult to see. [direct video link]
On Unmarked Roads: Driving lanes on roads without visible lane markings can also be made more visible to the driver. [direct video link]
