Mazda Reveals Innovative Adaptive Headlamp System

Revealed for the first time at Tokyo technology conference, Ceatec, Mazda is pushing the boundaries of technology and developing a new headlamp system which automatically adjusts a car’s headlights when another vehicle is approaching. The new Adaptive LED Headlights (ALH) will soon be included in Mazda’s advanced i-ACTIVSENSE range of safety systems.

ALH detects other cars using a camera which can cleverly sense an oncoming car 400 meters away and the tail-lights of a car 120 metres in front. The headlights, which are split into four blocks of LEDs, can turn on and off independently. Once another car is detected, rather than switching off completely, only the LEDs pointing at the oncoming or preceding car are turned off.

This means that the driver’s visibility remains unaffected as high beams are on at all times, ensuring greater safety during night-time driving, while not affecting other drivers on the road. ALH also features additional lighting through wider, lower beams thanks to extra LEDs on the sides of the headlamps.

While similar headlights can be found on some premium brand cars such as BMW, Mazda’s new system is a first for non-premium brand cars. This means that for the first time the innovative headlamp system will soon be available for the mass market - a big step forward for safety technology.