Abstract
Research and/or Engineering Questions/objective
Car accidents at night than during the day occur more frequently on the road especially which is not familiar with. In order to reduce the car accidents, this study suggests headlamp system that is interlinked with navigation. It helps drivers recognize unfamiliar road easily and makes drivers’ visibility improved at night.
Methodology
In this study, we developed headlamp system which can change headlamp beam-pattern automatically according to the road conditions. The headlamp ECU controls headlamp dipped-beam with information of 3D navigation map and vehicle status such as steering wheel angle, vehicle speed, yaw-rate, etc. It provides optimum headlamp beam pattern to drivers.
Result
We tested this headlamp system with a vehicle. It showed us high possibility of improving drivers’ visibility at night even though on curved and sloped road.
Limitation of this study
It demands more accurate 3D map and minute headlamp control skill. In a vehicle test, we met with many malfunction of headlamp system because of uncertain map information. If map information is wrong, it causes calculation error in ECU and then dipped-beam lights on wrong area.
What does the paper offer that is new in the field including in comparison to other work by the authors?
Many competitors focus on the intelligent and safe car with ADAS for drivers’ safety and convenience. But we focus on only headlamp system for improving drivers’ visibility at night. This study helps the driver avoid accident and provides the best headlamp beam-pattern in a strange place.
Conclusions
While driving at night, it is possible to avoid car accidents and give high visibility at a strange place by using this system. As a result, the headlamp system interlinked with navigation can be lead to an achievement in safety.
Key Words: Headlamp, Navigation, 3D Map, Vehicle Information, GPS ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System)