Each Matrix LED headlight houses 25 LEDs that are capable of being dimmed as per the situation on the road. The system comprises of three main components - the matrix LED headlights with the matrix LED power module; the multifunction camera; and the matrix LED responsive control unit as the “brain” of the system.
The system houses an ultra-sensitive camera that detects light sources from oncoming vehicles and masks out the high beam light distribution around them in real time. The camera is placed behind the windscreen in the base of the mirror. The image processor is integrated into the camera, which allows object lists with the necessary characteristics to be made directly available to other vehicle systems.
The headlights are calibrated to the camera in the vehicle during the production process. The link between the camera and the headlight is formed by a function software in the control unit. It performs the alignment between the objects in the camera and the matrix LED segments. On the other hand, the function software records data that contains the position of every single matrix LED segment in the headlight. The control unit then computes which segments need to be dimmed. The LEDs in the segments concerned are thus deactivated to prevent glare [1].
Headlight Structure
Each headlight comprises 25 high-beam light-emitting diodes, arranged in groups of five per reflector. When the light switch is set to “automatic” and the high-beam headlights are on, the system is activated from 30 km/h (18.64 m/h) on highways and from 60 km/h (37.28 m/h) on city streets [2]. The Matrix LED technology splits up the LED high-beam headlights into numerous individual, small diodes working in conjunction with lenses or reflectors connected in series.
Overall, more than 230 parts constitute the entire system. The low beam unit has five chambers, each equipped with 15 1-sq-mm high-performance LEDs. The high beam unit responds to the information in the control software. Each LED chip generates a main beam segment in the form of a vertical strip. Even though every individual segment is homogeneously illuminated, the edges are computed to have maximum sharpness and can therefore create a dark zone between the other illuminated segments, the width of which can be freely varied [1]. In total, a lighting intensity of 100 to 150 lx can be generated, claims Audi, enabling the driver to continue driving with main beam function despite the presence of oncoming traffic.
The Matrix LED headlights also function as a cornering light. The system uses predictive route data supplied by the MMI navigation system on the car to shift the focus of the beam towards the side the driver intends to move, even before the driver actually turns the steering wheel.
