Hyundai Mobis develops high-tech headlamp to prevent accidents at night

South Korea's automotive parts company Hyundai Mobis on Thursday announced its development of the HD Lighting System, a next-generation vehicle headlamp that displays real-time driving information as clear LED light on the road ahead.

"It will drastically reduce accidents at night for both drivers and pedestrians," the company added.

This system visualizes real-time driving information detected by camera sensors or navigation as letters or figures and lights up the road. For example, a 1.5-meter under construction sign appears when approaching a construction section 15 meters in front of the driver's view and data on speed limits, bumps, and routes to and from highways is provided.

A driver can also communicate with pedestrians using headlights instead of emergency lights or horn. The system recognizes pedestrians in remote alleys and projects a virtual crosswalk on the road to allow pedestrians to pass first when vehicles stop.

The HD Lighting System has about 25,000 HD MicroLED pixels, or around 250 times that of mass-producted LED headlamps having 80 to 120, serving as light sources with a thickness 0.04 mm smaller than a human hair. So the more detailed light control allows the driver to more accurately recognize the locations of objects or pedestrians.

In addition, the system has 1.3 million digital micromirror devices (DMD). At a size of just 0.01 mm, a DMD is an uber-precise control device that refracts light and controls the light of each of the densely mounted LEDs to display a desired shape or symbol on the road.

"The system not only gives real-time driving information like navigation and head-up displays but also enables communication with pedestrians," a Hyundai Mobis source said. "This so-called communication lighting technology is becoming reality."

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com