- The Polestar 2 electric sedan’s standard Launch Edition headlights use LED pixel technology that masks out oncoming vehicles when the high-beams are on.
- The technology uses 84 individual LED pixels in each headlamp that can be individually controlled to adjust the light beams.
- Unfortunately, the technology is not allowed on U.S. roadways, but the hardware is already on the electric sedans and can be turned on via an over-the-air update if the law changes.
Polestar announced that its Pixel LED headlamps will be standard on the Polestar 2 Launch Edition (it’s an optional feature on other trim levels). The setup includes a lighting welcome sequence when the vehicle is unlocked and will also feature high-beam technology that reduces glare for other drivers. Sadly, that technology isn’t available in the United States.
The LED lighting uses 84 individual LED pixels to form a lighting matrix in each headlamp. Those individual pixels are controlled by the vehicle and switched on and off as needed. The benefit of this adaptive lighting technology is that the vehicle can reduce or increase the amount of light in a certain area as needed, letting a driver leave the high-beams on without worrying about switching back and forth when oncoming cars are present. The front fog lights also come on automatically based on steering or turn-signal use when the vehicle is traveling at low speeds.
Typically, the driver of an oncoming vehicle will be blinded, but the Polestar system (like systems from Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and others) reduces the light hitting the oncoming vehicle by adjusting the brightness of individual LED pixels. The driver still has all the benefits of high-beams, and the drivers of other vehicles aren’t blinded, because the system has essentially masked out their car.
Unfortunately, U.S. regulations don’t allow this type of lighting technology on our roads. Instead, vehicles on U.S. roads get high-beam, low-beam, or off. That’s it. For years, the federal government has been researching potentially allowing these types of lighting matrix systems that are smart enough to mask out areas with reduced illumination, but so far, no luck on that front.
What we will get here in the U.S. is the 288-LED rear light bar that supports adaptive lighting so it can be brightened and dimmed as needed. If we are lucky enough for NHTSA to get around to changing the rules, Polestar says that the hardware that’s already on U.S. Polestar 2 sedans will get an over-the-air update to turn the rest of the features on.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
