Shedding Light on Volkswagen’s Innovative Headlamp Technologies
September 2022
- At the forefront of modern headlamp development, Volkswagen sees the use of lighting as an optimal form of communication.
As South Africa prepared to welcome a global audience to its shores ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the motoring world was getting acquainted with an innovation in headlight technology destined to change the way drivers would both see and be seen on the road.
Introduced with the launch of the second-generation flagship Touareg SUV, our Volkswagen Dynamic Light Assist system incorporated a forward-facing, windscreen-mounted camera to continuously monitor the road ahead. Using the footage, this first-of-its-kind system could then automatically activate or, indeed, lower the vehicle’s high-beam headlamp function, based on prevailing driving conditions. In removing this one decision-making process from the focus of a driver, Volkswagen set in motion its vision for the future of multifunction lighting systems.
Designed, tested and perfected at the brand’s Light Competence Centre in Wolfsburg, Germany, our work in the area of lighting is seen as a significant stride towards the way road users of the future will both interact with their car and communicate with one another.
100-metres long, 15-metres wide and five-metres tall, the purpose-built tunnel used by the Centre is designed to replicate any real-world driving situation, including up-to-date signage, market-specific road markings and numerous on-coming traffic scenarios, as well as various natural illumination events – including mist and pitch-dark conditions.
It was within this controlled environment that our brand’s IQ.Light Matrix LED technology was fine-tuned. Available throughout Volkswagen’s modern vehicle portfolio – including the South Africa-built sixth-generation Polo – this innovation incorporates a cluster light-emitting diodes (LED) and corresponding sensors working in tandem with a front-facing camera, prevailing steering-wheel inputs and even the vehicle’s satellite navigation system to continuously adjust the focus of the car’s main beam. This includes specifically illuminating the apex of a corner, highlighting a potentially inattentive pedestrian, flooding a dark patch of road with as much light as possible and, impressively, seamlessly dipping only the portion of the beam that would otherwise irritate the eyes of the driver and passengers of an oncoming vehicle.
The broad adoption of laser lighting systems has also been making headlines in recent years, yet here at Volkswagen we see the steady evolution of significantly more cost-effective LED technology as a pertinent fit for our customers.
The innovation included within a modern IQ.Light arrangement boasts real-world benefits when it comes to the safety of all road users, as well as significantly reducing levels of potential fatigue while affording a driver more time to focus on maintaining steady, surefooted momentum.
The innovation included within a modern IQ.Light arrangement boasts real-world benefits when it comes to the safety of all road users, as well as significantly reducing levels of potential fatigue while affording a driver more time to focus on maintaining steady, surefooted momentum.
An accompanying, somewhat more alluring benefit of the evolution of LED technology is the ability to configure these intricate items into any number of striking signature lighting arrangements and supplementary design elements.
At Volkswagen, we see the seamless manipulation of a vehicle’s head- and taillamp lighting clusters as an ideal way for road users to communicate with one another – notably as more silent-working all-electric vehicles take to the road. From alerting a pedestrian or cyclist’s eye towards an on-coming car or displaying an illuminated hazard symbol to guide first-responders or technicians towards a stationary vehicle, what about the ability to shine a flashing heart emoji to a potential new friend in the traffic?