Mazda presenting new adaptive headlamp system

Mazda is showcasing its next-generation Adaptive LED Headlights system – the unconventional company's latest breakthrough in active safety technology – in Tokyo at CEATEC JAPAN 2014, a leading IT and electronics exhibition running from 7 to 11 October. Mazda is the first Japanese carmaker to unveil such an autonomous high-beam control system to the public.

Soon to join Mazda's i-ACTIVSENSE line-up of advanced safety systems, Adaptive LED Headlights (ALH) features LED array high-beam technology that splits the LEDs into four independently controllable blocks. Like High Beam Control (HBC), a related system available with all new-generation Mazdas, ALH uses a camera to detect oncoming and preceding vehicles. But instead of switching off the high beams entirely to avoid impairing other drivers' vision, ALH shuts off only the LEDs shining in their specific direction. So the high beams remain on at all times, enhancing visibility and with it safety at night when most fatal traffic accidents occur.

ALH also comes with wide-distribution low beams, which add LEDs to the sides of the headlamps to shed light where conventional headlights do not. Highway mode, meanwhile, is another ALH feature that automatically adjusts the forward aim of the headlamps upwards when travelling at highway speeds to illuminate road signs and potential obstacles earlier.

Besides ALH, Mazda will display a special Mazda3 equipped with an automated driving system at CEATEC JAPAN 2014. It monitors the status of the vehicle with high-precision GPS, also using motion-control technology to continually observe the condition of the driver. The setup helps drivers avoid mistakes and reduces the risk of accidents.

# # #