Hyundai MOBIS has introduced its new Communication Lighting concept at CES.
Essentially a futuristic coupe, the streamlined autonomous vehicle has been
equipped with an assortment of displays and lights that communicate its
intentions.
The headlights are particularly interesting as the
company says they can project a “bright red warning symbol” in front of
pedestrians to indicate it is unsafe to move in front of the vehicle. When the
vehicle comes to a stop, the headlights project a crosswalk symbol onto the
ground to indicate that it is safe to proceed.
Pedestrians can be detected more than 137
meters away and the vehicle will even show them what it intends to do next. As
Hyundai MOBIS explained, “LED boards” show a directional arrow indicating which
way the vehicle intends to move. The
concept will also start a countdown to indicate how much longer until it starts
moving. The latter feature mimics crossing signs which countdown how long
people have to wait to cross the street.
Besides the aforementioned features, the concept has
an “Indicating Lighting Zone” which informs people that it is operating in
autonomous driving mode. The concept also uses sounds and other LEDs in an
effort to improve road safety.
Since the Communication Lighting system focuses on
using intelligent lighting technology, Hyundai MOBIS says the technology could
be rolled out in a relatively quick and cost effective manner. Of course, it
would require automakers to incorporate the lighting technologies into the
design of their vehicles.
According Hyundai MOBIS’ director of lamp
engineering, Mirco Goetz, “Light has been used as a conduit for communication
among vehicles and pedestrians for almost as long as the automobile has
existed, so we are excited to lead the evolution of this technology to save lives
and offer peace of mind to all that use the road.”
