In 2016, scientists revealed why dusk and nighttime are the most dangerous hours on the road

Driving after sunset can be far more challenging than daytime travel, with reduced visibility increasing the risk of accidents. Researchers in Germany developed a new adaptive headlight system designed to improve nighttime safety while reducing glare for other drivers. The technology offers more precise lighting and greater energy efficiency than conventional systems.

Scientists revealed why dusk and nighttime are the most dangerous hours for driving

Night driving becomes far more demanding when rain, winding roads, and glare from other vehicles combine to reduce visibility. According to the report by Phys.Org, most road accidents occur during dusk or nighttime, making better lighting one of the most important factors in improving road safety.


To address this challenge, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM) in Berlin joined forces with Infineon, Osram, Hella and Daimler in the composite project μAFS to develop a new adaptive front lighting system that delivers highly precise illumination while using less energy.

Why are nighttime roads more dangerous?

Driving in poor light conditions becomes especially difficult when weather further limits visibility. Bright headlights from vehicles behind or approaching traffic can temporarily blind drivers, increasing the likelihood of mistakes.

Modern adaptive headlights aim to reduce these risks by automatically adjusting light distribution according to current traffic conditions. Instead of flooding the entire road with light, they illuminate only the areas where visibility is needed while reducing glare for other road users.

According to Fraunhofer IZM, the newly developed system takes this concept much further by offering exceptionally detailed light control.

"We have been able to solidly connect four LED chips having 256 pixel each with the driver electronics chip. Due to this high resolution, we can control the light distribution to the smallest detail," explains Dr. Hermann Oppermann, Group Manager in the Department of Wafer Level System Integration at the IZM.

How do intelligent headlights improve visibility?

The adaptive headlight combines four LED chips, each containing 256 pixels, giving the system more than 1,000 independently controlled lighting points.

This allows the headlights to keep the high beam on continuously while automatically adjusting the beam to suit changing driving conditions. The system can modify illumination based on the shape of the road, approaching traffic, and the distance and position of surrounding vehicles.

Only the pixels required for each situation are activated.

Typically, only about 30 percent of the available light output is used at any one time. Because light is generated only where it is actually needed on the road, the system is considerably more energy efficient than conventional lighting technologies.

The LED chips have already been installed inside prototype headlights.

What makes this lighting system different?

Researchers at Fraunhofer IZM were responsible for connecting every individual LED pixel to the driver electronics so that each light point could be controlled independently.

With each pixel measuring just 125 microns, creating reliable electrical connections presented a significant engineering challenge.

"The connections have to be sturdy, and we need good thermal contact to ensure sufficient cooling of the chip," Oppermann explains.

To solve this, the research team developed two different approaches.

One method applies a patterned gold-tin alloy directly onto the chip. While this technology is already established in optoelectronics, producing the extremely fine structures needed for the LED chip, with spacing as small as 15 microns, had not previously been possible.

The second approach uses a gold nano-sponge.

"This nanoporous gold structure has the advantage that it compresses like a real sponge and can be precisely adapted to the topography of the component," says Oppermann. "A small unevenness of a few micrometers, which inevitably occurs, can therefore be compensated for easily and quickly."

The researchers also highlighted the limitations of existing lighting technologies.

Conventional LED systems require one LED for every point of light, meaning as many as 80 individual LEDs are connected together. Each LED also requires its own precisely aligned optics to produce a continuous beam.

Other systems rely on laser light or LCD displays that generate light before blocking part of it, making them less energy efficient because some of the light is immediately reabsorbed. Mechanical masking systems also waste energy and can only brighten or darken relatively large sections of the road.



By comparison, the adaptive lighting system developed by Fraunhofer IZM, together with Infineon, Osram, Hella and Daimler, delivers highly targeted illumination while reducing unnecessary light output. The project demonstrates how high-resolution LED technology can improve nighttime visibility, reduce glare for other road users, and use energy more efficiently, offering a promising step forward for safer driving after dark.

FAQs

1. Why do more accidents happen at night?
   Poor visibility at dusk and night makes it harder for drivers to react safely.
2. What is special about the new headlight system?
   It uses over 1,000 LED pixels to direct light only where it is needed.