Pardon my ignorance, but I have always been under the impression that front head/parking/fog/spot lights should operate in "pairs"and that having just one light of a pair was technically illegal. (Yes I know that very few people get "done" for only having one working headlight). Are these "flashing" foglights legal? Suppose they must be.
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{nerd hat on}
When James May test drove the A class on drunk people drive home bingo a couple of years back I noticed this. Thought there was a problem with the car, tbh
{removes nerd hat}
I've seen a few E class Mercs doing the same thing since so I assume it's some kind of enhanced lighting system although I can't really see it'll do much for you around any area with street lights. Think I'd rather have the C4 fixed/steering lights or even just the simpler system of the DS.
Another thing to go wrong....:-)
Edited by Citroënian {P} on 13/03/2008 at 23:28
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>>Another thing to go wrong....:-)
Oddly, there probably isn't another physical "thing" there to go wrong.
With the steering position being sensed for the stability system or the variable power steering system, and the lights being controlled by something like a CAN bus, the only addition will be some code which sorts out the logic of which light to switch when.
The beauty of CAN bus, is that it allows any system to use the data provided by any sensor, and to action any actuator.
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Oddly, there probably isn't another physical "thing" there to go wrong.
Yes, but a CAN bus & sensors and/or actuators are still physical & rely on physical integrity of components & pieces of wire.
..some code which sorts out the logic..
..will, at some point, go wrong. In my line of work 'software rot' (although a rather ludicrous & somewhat tongue-in-cheek concept) is often a puzzlingly real phenomenon.
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Nothing to add other than to say I like the title of the thread!
Edited by Round The Bend on 14/03/2008 at 10:39
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I've never experienced this technological wonder but can someone explain to me whether this system actually follows the natural behaviour of the driver's eyes?
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I hope not, otherwise the light will follow attractive women walking on the pavement.
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lol!
Just another reminder I'm growing old...
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I read in one of the car mags a few months back about a system in development which uses a series of hundreds of LCD "pixels" through which the headlamp beam is projected. These pixels can be activated independently of each other under electronic control, to block any part of the beam. Used in conjunction with light and motion sensors, the idea is that you can drive with main beam on all the time, and when the system picks up an oncoming car, it will activate the required LCD segments to block only the part of the beam that affects the oncoming driver. This blocking process moves dynamically as the oncoming car moves through the beam's field. It can also be used to provide additional lighting when cornering.
It's in its very early stages, and the costs need to be worked on, but apparently the technology fundamentally works well.
Cheers
DP
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In a very obscure, and not bothered but I'll ask mood, could the police technically give you a fine if they saw your car with one fog light on?
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"although the BMW X5 has dip/main lighting in the foglights
...I don't doubt they do something fancy but main beam foglights??"
www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/x5/x5/2006/allfacts...l
Cornering lights are a good start: EDC-AUOI* is the next step, but this will apparently take another few years of research and several thousand brains will have to undergo major rewiring...
(*Enhanced Driver Consideration - Appropriate Use Of Indicators.)
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