Driving through rain, sleet and snowfall are constantly stressful and nerve racking experiences, most feared even by experienced drivers. It is just for this reason that Srinivasa G. Narasimhan and his team of researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University have developed smart headlight system that will enable drivers to have the ability to see about 70% better and up to 13 feet in front of the car even in extreme weather conditions.
A common problems driver's face when driving through rain and snow is caused when headlight beams reflect off the rain or snow and this reflected light hits back to the driver's eyes causing confusion and distracts the driver from obstacles on the road. This new development by Narasimhan and his team will consist of a camera, projector and beam splitter which is then connected to a computer processor.
The system works in a way whereby the camera will picture raindrops at the top of field of view. A processor will determine direction of drips and will send a signal to headlights which in turn will be able to adjust beam of light so rain drops are not highlighted. This entire process from start to finish will be completed in a matter of 13 miliseconds. The team still needs to work on this prototype as 13 miliseconds seems a bit too long while 13 feet of range seems too little.
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