BMW develops laser light for the car.

[KokkenTor]

BMW develops laser light for the car.


Following the introduction of the full LED headlight, laser light is the next logical step in the development of vehicle headlight technology. BMW is planning this step, thus further expanding its lead in innovative light technology.



Munich. As a globally successful carmaker within the premium segment, the BMW Group attaches the utmost importance to advanced technology in all sectors of automotive manufacturing. Exclusive innovations and technological leaps secure BMW’s lead amongst the competition. In the field of exterior vehicle lights, BMW also leads the way for example with full LED headlamps for the BMW 6 Series and with new developments such as the “Anti-dazzle High- Beam Assistant”, as well as with “Dynamic Light Spot”. The term “Dynamic Light Spot” stands for a marker light system that automatically illuminates pedestrians in good time, thereby guiding the driver’s attention.



After LED technology, laser light is the next logical step in car light development. BMW engineers are currently already working on the introduction of laser light as a further pioneering technology for series production within a few years. Laser light could then facilitate entirely new light functions for even more safety and comfort and at the same time contribute significantly through its higher degree of efficiency towards a saving in energy and fuel respectively.



Laser light produces virtually parallel light beams.

By definition, laser lighting is radically different from sunlight, and also from the various types of artificial lighting in common use today. For a start, laser lighting is monochromatic, which means that the light waves all have the same length. And it is also what is known as a “coherent” light source, which means that its waves have a constant phase difference. As a result, laser lighting can produce a near-parallel beam with an intensity a thousand times greater than that of conventional LEDs. In vehicle headlights, these characteristics can be used to implement entirely new functions. Also, the high inherent efficiency of laser lighting means that laser headlights have less than half the energy consumption of LED headlights. Simply put, laser headlights save fuel.



The intensity of laser light poses no possible risks to humans, animals or wildlife when used in car lighting. Amongst other things, this is because the light is not emitted directly, but is first converted into a form that is suitable for use in road traffic. The resulting light is very bright and white. It is also very pleasant to the eye and has a very low energy consumption.



Laser diodes are already in use today in the consumer sector.

Completely safe laser lighting technology is already in use in a variety of consumer products, though in many cases this is a product feature that goes unnoticed by the customer. That won’t be the case when this technology is used in cars, however, as planned by BMW. Here the whole point is that the advantages should be noticeable and visible. A further feature of laser technology, which has important implications, is the size of the individual diodes. With a length of just ten microns (µm), laser diodes are one hundred times smaller even than the small, square-shaped cells used in conventional LED lighting, which have a side length of one millimetre. This opens up all sorts of new possibilities when integrating the light source into the vehicle. The BMW engineers have no plans to radically reduce the size of the headlights however, although that would be theoretically possible. Instead, the thinking is that the headlights would retain their conventional surface area dimensions and so continue to play an important role in the styling of a BMW, while the size advantages could be used to reduce the depth of the headlight unit, and so open up new possibilities for headlight positioning and body styling.



A further advantage of laser lighting technology, and one which the BMW engineers intend to use to full effect, is its high inherent efficiency. A single statistic will make this clear: whereas LED lighting generates only around 100 lumens (a photometric unit of light output) per watt, laser lighting generates approximately 170 lumens. With statistics like this, it is not surprising that BMW is also planning to take advantage of laser lighting technology to increase the efficiency of the overall vehicle. And appropriately enough it is in a concept vehicle from the new BMW i sub-brand, the BMW i8 Concept, that laser lighting will get its first airing. After all, BMW i stands for a new premium concept that is strongly oriented towards sustainability.



Laser lighting: high efficiency and safety.

Safety is a key consideration in the development of laser lighting for use in passenger cars. For BMW, the complete eye safety of this technology for all road users and its complete reliability in day-to-day use have top priority. Importantly, therefore, before the light from the tiny laser diodes is emitted onto the road, the originally bluish laser light beam is first of all converted by means of a fluorescent phosphor material inside the headlight into a pure white light which is very bright and pleasant to the eye. As a result, in future it will be possible to use laser light to implement all the familiar – including more recent – BMW lighting functions such as Adaptive Headlights, the “Dynamic Light Spot” spotlighting system and the “Anti-Dazzle High-Beam Assist”. It will also be possible to use BMW laser lighting to implement completely new functions, which will have only minimal power consumption.

Link: https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/pres...lId=6&id=T0119817EN&left_menu_item=node__2367

 

[Centurion]

Can't wait for ricers named cyclops to tune the capacitators of their laser beems and blind everyone in their path.

 

[Human]

BMW previews laser-based headlamps in Vision ConnectedDrive concept

BMW took wraps off of its latest eco-friendly concept known only as Vision ConnectedDrive at the Geneva Motor Show – but only gave a hint at what the technology in the vehicle was all about.

Now, the German automaker has decided to open up a but more and go into detail about its ConnectedDrive suite of technologies, which range from new headlight designs with several new features, to new infotainment apps and hardware, to an new and advanced Head-Up display.

Although BMW hasn’t specified one way or the other, it seems as if the Vision ConnectedDrive is intended to be more of a platform to display an array of technologies that will invariably work their way into productions rather than a hint at a car with production in its future.

For example, no details have been given about the vehicle’s powertrain, yet we have no learned about a new laser-based headlamp system. As BMW explains, laser-based lighting is truly ideal in many ways, including the fact that it produces a near-parallel beam pattern and also consumes less than half of the energy of the already highly efficient LED systems.

As if those benefits weren’t enough, laser lighting is also 1,000 times more intense than conventional LEDs, making it far more powerful as well. In the Vision ConnectedDrive concept, these benefits were put to use to create a headlamp that is more efficient, more powerful and still totally safe to animals and humans despite the scary name.

BMW says the laser technology it has developed is also compatible with existing headlamp technologies like Adaptive Headlights, Dynamic Light Spot spotlighting and the Anti-Dazzle High-Beam Assistant.

Show me the connectivity
It seems the sci-fi movies were right when they predicted that cars of the future would move towards autonomous operation thanks to communication between vehicles. The Vision ConnectedDrive concept takes the first step towards that future reality with Proactive Connectivity, the result of a joint project between BMW and Technik GmbH.

Proactive Connectivity seems to take two ideas from the movie Minority Report: autonomous vehicles and looking into the future to stop negative events before they ever happen. “With our Proactive Connectivity project we are aiming to look into the future and foresee what will happen down the road in two minutes’ time,” said Dr. Ilse Kulp, project manager Proactive Connectivity at BMW Group Research and
Technology.

How does it work? engineers are developing ways to predict speed and traffic flow based on current known conditions, historic data and car-to-car communication. The data is then analyzed and estimates are made and relayed to the driver if there is a strong likelihood of a potential slow down or other hazard ahead.

So rather than relying on a rare and special breed of people who see the future, an algorithm that doesn’t require a retirement package or healthcare does the work. Once the calculations are complete, the system will provide recommendations to the driver in the form of warning alerts, or provide information to suggest what speed to travel to arrive at a traffic light when it will be green.

BMW admits this technology is still very much in ongoing development, but it does seem to be the way a few automakers are preparing for the not-so-distant future of automotive safety advancements.

Let’s talk Apps and Infotainment!
While BMW may advertise itself as the builder of the ultimate driving machine – often associated with sporting driving – the reality is BMW, like other luxury and even non-luxury automakers – is also intent on improving the “driving” experience through more advanced and easier to use infotainment features.

“For us, the whole issue of apps is about not only the individual functions inside the vehicle, such as web radio or Google, but also the avenues this opens up to us beyond them. This technology makes our vehicles fit for the future,” said Florian Reuter, product management, MINI Connected.

BMW has already incorporated several app-based functions into the vehicle, such as web radio, Google Local Search, Facebook and calender functions. But the long-term idea goes beyond apps developed by BMW and allow for third-party apps to be integrated as well, like personalized music streaming.

But with so many apps comes the need for smart filtering, which BMW hopes to deliver with Infotainment Assistant. “Our aim with the Infotainment Assistant is to look at all the information and entertainment options available to customers inside the vehicle, filter out content which might be relevant and interesting to them, and present it to them without them having to lift a finger,” said Thomas Helbig, project manager online entertainment.

In other words, Infotainment Assistant acts like a personal butler, offering up suggestions for entertainment based on driver preferences and the current driving situation. The “Assistant” part of the name comes into play with advanced functions such as noticing that the driver is late to a meeting by checking the calender through the apps and then compose an e-mail to send to other attendees of the meeting to inform them that the driver has been held up.

The Infotainment Assistant can also perform tasks to deliver unique music or news based on driver preference, learning over time based on feedback from the driver pertaining to suggestions. The system will also learn habits, such as the desire to hear news during the morning commute and relaxing music on the drive home.

SOURCE + PHOTOS: http://www.leftlanenews.com/photos/bmw-vision-connecteddrive-concept-picture-7.html#overlayContent