While advanced lighting systems have made their way into vehicles across Europe, U.S. regulations haven’t kept pace — making many of these features illegal in America. However, electric automaker Rivian has managed to develop a system that complies with U.S. federal law, becoming the only brand currently offering Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlights legally in the United States.
There’s only one problem. Our laws didn’t keep up to speed. Which means much of the latest tech available in Europe and elsewhere in the world, like in the latest Audi S5, is not legal in the US. Most manufacturers have simply deleted these new functionalities in their lighting systems. But one automaker bucked the trend and found a way to provide both Adaptive Driving Beam headlights (ADB) in their new models, and to be compliant with US federal law. In short, they shone a light on a very dark problem.
There are many new lighting systems on the market, but we’ve focused on the LED Matrix-system as used by Rivian and Audi, as part of their working agreement. Explainers on what other systems are available in the industry are covered extensively elsewhere on CarBuzz.
What Are Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) Headlights?
Quick Facts About the Rivian R1T
-
Is a mid-size pickup truck
-
Produced since 2021
-
Driving range of 420 miles
-
Uses Adaptive Driving Beam headlight technology
-
Only manufacturer that offers this in the US
The advent of modern LED technology provided a smart solution to this. Coupled with radar mounted on the top of the car’s windscreen, the Volkswagen Group’s Matrix lights, as seen even in the Amarok pickup, will dampen only those LED bundles in the headlight cluster which focus their beams on the oncoming car. This happens in a dynamic way, so that as the car approaches, whether in a straight line or around a bend, the car’s face is virtually blackened out as no lights shine directly on it. But, the rest of the area in front of the driver is still lit up, as the other LEDs are still functioning.
New tech available, but what to do with Rule FMVSS 108
In essence, the new US law requires three levels of lighting areas for oncoming traffic. The area around the oncoming car should be completely in line with a low beam light; around the vehicle there should be a shoulder area of semi-bright light; while only the further, outer areas should be fully lit in high beam. This ruling made the European Matrix type of LED lights illegal, as they provide for only two types of lighting areas: the dimmed area around the car, and the rest at high beam.
After being subjected to the new tests, Hyundai Motor Company leads the way with 16 awards this year.
The Matrix system is good. But Volkswagen, and in particular its luxury brand Audi, couldn’t employ it in the US, as it was illegal.
Rivian’s In-House Solution
Key facts to know
-
Volkswagen Group uses Matrix LED-technology
-
Bundles of LEDs can be blackened out to not blind oncoming traffic
-
Lights go out in a dynamic way, to virtually follow the car as it approaches
-
System is not allowed in the US, as a perimeter of a lighter shade of dark is necessary around the approaching vehicle
-
Rivian’s LED headlights comply with US law, as it provides for three shades of light around oncoming traffic
-
Rivian bypasses the infamous FMVSS 108
One manufacturer, though, did find a way around it. The maker of battery-electric pickup trucks and SUVs, Rivian, set its team of engineers to work to come up with a plan. And they did, in the form of three PC boards for each headlight cluster, to each control the three levels of light intensity. This allowed Rivian to pass the infamous FMVSS 108, and become the first – and up until now, only – automaker to offer fully compliant ADB headlights in the US.
Can cars get any safer? Sure. But we need to do more than add more sensors to reduce traffic fatalities.
So, how did we arrive at this point where we have only one manufacturer complying with the latest rules, and the rest offering older tech, but are seemingly happy with this state of affairs? According to the industry, Rivian’s advantage is that it is a small company. Decisions are made much quicker than what’s possible in an automotive giant like Mercedes, Volkswagen or Toyota.
The second reason is that the changeover would require a complete rebuild of the computerized lighting system. As it is, the Matrix lights offer something of a compromise, where the low beam is not as dark as normal, old-school low beams were. The other problem FMVSS 108 added is the outer area around the oncoming car, which also has to be darkened to a point. With all these steps combined, it is no wonder Audi decided it would rather just ship its cars with the tech built in, but unavailable to the US public.
What’s next in line?
The man in charge of the company that builds the LiDAR sensor on the new Volvo EX90 EV says Tesla has taken the wrong approach to autonomous driving.
Adventures in lidar, radar, and infrared lighting
Rivian and VW have an agreement for tech sharing so we could hypothesize that Rivian’s developments could benefit the Volkswagen Group, too. Some automakers already use infrared technology to provide you with a longer depth of vision at night time, with a black-and-white image on a screen on the dashboard. Another is using lidar to detect oncoming traffic earlier than conventional lights/drivers, but without blinding the driver.
For Volkswagen Group, the next step would clearly be to expand its existing Matrix system to include the US’ three-tier lighting areas around oncoming vehicles. It would be beneficial to all, and could mean that the blackened-out area could be darker than is currently the case. Another aspect is with brake light technology, something we’ve described in detail previously on a launch drive with the new Audi S5.
In essence, the brake lights’ LEDs can show different patterns, like red triangles, to indicate to the driver behind you of an oncoming danger (a pothole) or that he is simply driving too close to you. At the moment, this changing of the light’s features isn’t allowed in the States. But we could see how manufacturers could find a way around this challenge.
Disclaimer: This news is based on current industry insights and may be subject to change. For official details, refer to automaker or regulatory sources.
