Ford has come up with a cool idea, combining GPS, a car's forward-pointing cameras with directed-beam headlights in way that could enhance safety by spotlighting animals, pedestrians and cyclists at night.
Ford says its Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System widens the headlight's beam at intersections make hazards that aren't directly in the path of travel easier to see. The new Spot Lighting technology helps draw the driver's attention to pedestrians, cyclists and large animals in the vehicle's path or even just off the road.
"Many people who drive at night have had to quickly react to someone or something suddenly appearing in the road –- as if from nowhere," says Ken Washington, a Ford vice president for research, in a statement. "Ford's Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System and Spot Lighting help ensure the driver is quickly alerted to people or animals that could present a danger."