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Adaptive Light Control Systems

Technical Report · August 2020

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SEMINAR FORSCHUNGSORIENTIERUNG 1

Adaptive Light Control Systems

Ishfaque Ahmed

Abstract—The automotive industry has seen a lot of development since the start of the 21st century to produce smart and fuel-efficient
vehicles. The number one area of research and development is to make vehicles safe for passengers and pedestrians. Better nighttime
visibility for the driver is also an area that enhances passenger and pedestrian safety. Adaptive light control systems (ALCS) is a part
of an active safety system, that illuminates the road, and provides optimal visibility to the driver in changing weather conditions. This
paper explains the adaptive light control systems as studied and examined by other researchers with considering Adaptive Front Lighting
Systems (AFS).

Index Terms—Adaptive light control system, Adaptive front lighting systems, Headlights, Sensors, Actuators

1 I NTRODUCTION

T HE objective of the automotive headlight is to enhance

safety at night by improving the driver’s visibility in
low light and poor weather conditions. Like other important
adaptive headlight system (AHS) [4], [5], [6]. According to
the UN mandate, LED and Laser-based headlights follow
the same convention. LED-based AFS adapts, and project
components of a vehicle, head-lights have the chief respon- the light according to a specific pattern. There are six major
sibility to brighten up the road to provide a clear vision functionalities as mentioned below [7], [8]:
ahead in the direction of vehicle movement. Automotive
1) Town passing beam (Class V): switched on at drive
Lighting history dates back to the 1880s. In the 1880s, the gas
speed below 50 km/h
and oil lamps were used as a lighting source in the animal-
2) Basic/Country passing beam (Class C): switched on
drawn coaches [1], [2]. While, in 1908 the first electric bulb
at drive speed range of 50 to 100 km/h
was lighted with Dynamo in Automotive, and the Halogen
3) Motorway passing beam (Class E): switched on at
lamps were first time introduced in Europe in 1960 [1]. Later
speeds above 100 km/h
on, Xenon (HID) lamps, LEDs, and Laser source continued
4) Wet-road passing beam (Class W): switched on
this research. Research and development to innovate and
when rain sensor detects precipitation
improve driver visibility is ongoing since one and a half-
5) Static cornering light: effective when maneuvers in
century [2].
dark roads
Though driver visibility is improved by the latest head-
6) Dynamic swivel/level lighting: Leveling (vertical)
lights still, the majority of the road accidents happen mostly
and Swiveling (Horizontal) adjustment of head-
at night due to the road curves and incoming vehicles’ head-
lights
lights glare. Only 25% night driving causes 55% fatalities
and vehicle crashes occur at night even with less traffic on
the road. Therefore, due to the limitations of conventional 3 C OMPONENTS OF ALCS
headlights, the Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) has The AFS consists of 5 modules. These modules are sensor
been developed. ALCS is also known as AFS. The AFS module, automotive microcontroller unit, stepper motors,
control and adjust the headlight illumination in response to headlights, and peripheral circuits.
changing driving conditions [2], [3]. AFS works like driver
assistance, and enhance the visibility for drivers at night 3.1 Sensor Module
time by adjusting the headlights automatically in the vehicle
The sensor module is a combination of multiple sensors.
movement direction according to the distance between two
The notable sensors are steering wheel angle sensor, speed
vehicles and steering wheel angel [3].
sensor, LDR sensor, and thermal infrared sensors. These
sensors measure the changing driving conditions at night
2 A PPLICATIONS AND F UNCTIONS OF ALCS and convert into the signal. These signals are used as input
data to the microcontroller for adjusting the left and right
Adaptive Light System (ALS) in automobiles is an active
headlights. The steering angle sensor record the curves and
safety module that refers to Adaptive Front Lighting System
the angle changes during the automobile turn. The speed
(AFS), for electro-mechanical auto-control and adjustment
sensor monitors the automobile speed. Incoming lights are
of headlights; improved signal lighting (ISL), for backlights
sensed by the LDR sensor. While, obstacles and objects are
adaptation; and interior lighting control (ILC), for automo-
determined by the thermal infrared sensor [9], [10], [11].
bile internal illumination. The AFS is also known as an

• Ishfaque Ahmed is a student of Automotive Sotware Engineering, Fakultät 3.2 Automotive Microcontroller Unit
für Informatik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Straße der Nationen 62, The automotive microcontroller unit (MCU) is the heart of
09111 Chemnitz, Germany.
the AFS. MCU is a RISC-type CPU, belongs to the STC12
SEMINAR FORSCHUNGSORIENTIERUNG 2

Series and compatible with the 8051 instruction set. The 4.2 Low Beam
microcontroller contains the 60KB program memory (flash), The automobile headlights are kept low beams and driv-
1,024B data memory (RAM), EPROM function, watchdog ing throughout the changing conditions. The low beams
(WDT), analog-to-digital (ADC) converter, and also pulse- scenario creates the hurdles for the drivers due to the low
width modulation (PWM). While the microcontroller re- visibility of the obstacles along the roadsides [10].
ceives the sensor signals as input and releases the stepper
motor pulse signal as an output for stepper motors adjust-
ment [9]. 5 W ORKING P RINCIPLES
The set of sensors observe/measure the physical variables
3.3 Stepper Motors (changing weather conditions) that are available in front
The stepper motors are the main and ideal actuators that of the automobile. These variables are converted into an
convert the electrical signal into the required mechanical electrical signal. These signals are used as inputs to the pro-
angel displacement and adjust the headlights according to cessing unit (microcontroller). The microcontroller analyzes
the changing weather conditions. The stepper motors speed the signal from the sensors, adjust the actuators (stepper
and stop positions mainly based on received electrical pulse motors and headlights), and illuminate the road concerning
signals. Stepper motors operating frequencies lie between the sensed obstacles and glare [2], [10], [11].
200Hz to 1000Hz with 1.8° step angle [9].

6 FACTORS IN ALCS D ESIGN / S YSTEMS

3.4 Headlights
AFS provides flexibility and reliability factors with numer-
Halogen lights are also known as Quartz Halogen or Tung-
ous tasks: Firstly, it allows the driver to use the high and low
sten Halogen. Halogen lights are fabricated from high-
beams without glaring to the incoming driver on the road.
temperature resistance material (glass) that encapsulates
Secondly, it enhances the visibility in different road condi-
the tungsten filament. Tungsten filament is a small wire
tions. Finally, it allows better illumination of the sidewalks,
that heats and emits the light similar to a household bulb.
dividers, and road lanes [2].
The Halogen lamps use the halogen gas to increase the
brightness and emits the yellowish light [10], [11].
Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are PN junction semicon- 7 L IMITATIONS OF ALCS
ductors that emit monochromatic light with very low power
consumption. Semiconductor chips are located in a center Physical properties and technical expertise (including com-
of LEDs, these chips consist of two regions that are sepa- posing parts) are the limitations of ALS [12]. Cost, lag, and
rated with junctions and these junctions work like a barrier latency are also the limiting variables in the effectiveness,
between p and n regions and control the flow of electrons. and advancement of ALS [5], [13].
Furthermore, range and distance covered by LEDs vary such
as, high beam covers 20m distance while low beam covers
7 to 10m distance respectively. In nowadays, LEDs are the 8 F UTURE S COPE OF ALCS
most commonly used light source in automobiles [10], [11]. High resolution LED light sources are recently developed
by a German research alliance that contains three LED
3.5 Peripheral Circuits light sources, each with 1,204 individual controllable elec-
tromechanical light points [8]. While, a glare-free high beam
The peripheral circuits enable the communication between (GFHB) detects the incoming automobile via camera, spot
all the components (i.e. sensors and actuators). Peripheral the shades, and apply auto-switching between low and high
circuits contain the sensors signal acquisition circuits, step- beams to avoid the glare and provide greater visibility to
per motors circuit, power supply circuits [9]. the driver [14]. iLas consortium is investigating the feasi-
bility, potential, and obstacles laser-based headlight called
4 B EAM S ETTINGS intelligent laser-based adaptive headlight system (iLas) [15].
There is also the development of organic LED (OLED) [16],
During nighttime driving, the automobile drivers are more
[17]. Area-based light modulation and digital micro-mirror
vulnerable to the deficiency of obstacles visibility over the
devices (DMDs) are also among current research works [14].
road for incoming objects ahead of them. At night time,
more flash of vision occurs to the drivers due to a high
beam from the opposite direction incoming vehicles [10]. 9 C ONCLUSION
Therefore, the high beam and low beam are the two com-
mon scenarios that occur during night driving. The automobile headlight must not be a passive device that
can only be switched on or off manually. But, it must be
capable of adapting to the changing weather conditions for
4.1 High Beam improved safety and illuminate the road in poor visibility
The automobile headlights are switched onto high beams conditions. Furthermore, the design of the adaptive head-
and driving throughout the changing conditions. High light must not be a single purpose. It must be capable of
beams scenario makes it uncomfortable to the opposite performing multiple tasks to help the driver in multiple
direction incoming automobile driver and passengers [10]. road environment.
SEMINAR FORSCHUNGSORIENTIERUNG 3

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