Full matrix headlight functionality just approved by NHTSA!

Full matrix headlight functionality has just been approved by NHTSA!

I’m very excited to see this approved. Can’t wait for the updates.

US approves new headlights that won’t blind oncoming drivers

Anyone who has ever been temporarily blinded by high-beam headlights from an oncoming car will be happy to hear this.

www.wbko.com

(“20191122-tesla-Cybertruck-driving-lightbar” by Kruzat is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.)

 

[Nolakai]

Check out this video, it demonstrates the advantages of Matrix headlights...

Interesting! I thought they were more like the adaptive headlight I have on my motorcycle, but this is different.

 

[HellsKitchen]

Interesting! I thought they were more like the adaptive headlight I have on my motorcycle, but this is different.

So do cars with this system still have the auto dim feature?

 

[MatildaModelY]

So do cars with this system still have the auto dim feature?

That’s the whole point of matrix. It only dims the part of the light beam that would show in the oncoming driver’s eyes.

 

[Saikin510]

I am excited for this!

 

[Tha_Ape]

Check out this video, it demonstrates the advantages of Matrix headlights...

the advantage is for the other people on the road. not really the driver

 

[terranx]

the advantage is for the other people on the road. not really the driver

Well it is an advantage for the driver in that you can keep your high beams on

 

[Corndart]

I did pore over the 300 some odd page ruling and there are some complexities there, specifically, an ADB headlight tested and authorized for use overseas may not meet US requirements because they did NOT simply adopt SAE J3069 or the European (ECE) standard. There are a lot of similarities with SAE J3069 in the new ruling, but it may require sensors not equipped in the vehicle/headlight that look for oncoming traffic to reduce glare, that would make it difficult to be a software-only compliance option. Hopefully the plethora of cameras the Tesla vehicles have are sufficient but until they test, it won't be certain.

 

[tm1v2]

I'm super excited to maybe get full matrix capability someday, but I have to say the auto high beams on my October 2021 M3P are so bad that I'm doubtful that Tesla can get matrix auto dimming working well anytime soon.

Unless maybe they regular auto high beams are bad because they've been spending this time perfecting matrix functionality?

 

[HellsKitchen]

That’s the whole point of matrix. It only dims the part of the light beam that would show in the oncoming driver’s eyes.

Right, but does that then make the auto dimming feature moot? Do the lights just always work high beam with constant selective auto dimming?

 

[tm1v2]

Right, but does that then make the auto dimming feature moot? Do the lights just always work high beam with constant selective auto dimming?

If you think about it, selective dimming is basically a much more advanced form of auto high beams.

I'm not saying Tesla will or won't share any code between the features. Just saying that conceptually it's the same problem but you have to be much more precise for selective dimming.

 

[terranx]

Right, but does that then make the auto dimming feature moot? Do the lights just always work high beam with constant selective auto dimming?

Basically. There might be a toggle option to revert to the classic behavior

 

[Mrklaw]

Hopefully Tesla started fitting matrix lights and working on the software at the same time. surely they wouldn’t keep the rest of the world in the dark just because the US didn’t have the regs updated, and there will already be region based differences in the software so US cars can still have dumb matrix lights until the rules changed?

Maybe they’re not ready with the software? While I think they have a samsung chip in, I hope the ‘upstream’ part - the camera used to pass the information to drive the chip - works better than auto high beams. I think most other cars use a fairly normal camera so should be doable, but lets see.

 

[BigNick]

What happens when an oncoming car, or a car you are behind, has its lights off? Will they receive a dimmer beam from the Matrix lights, or will they get blinded?
That is to say - does the car detect and dim for LIGHTS or OBJECTS?
I would think it should detect and dim only for lights, so if there's an obstacle/animal in the road, it still gets full-intensity light on it so the driver can see it and avoid it better.
Though this might increase the likelihood of a deer becoming frozen in your headlights, a driver is better at reacting to an obstacle than wildlife is reacting to oncoming traffic.

 

[PerBB]

What happens when an oncoming car, or a car you are behind, has its lights off? Will they receive a dimmer beam from the Matrix lights, or will they get blinded?
That is to say - does the car detect and dim for LIGHTS or OBJECTS?
I would think it should detect and dim only for lights, so if there's an obstacle/animal in the road, it still gets full-intensity light on it so the driver can see it and avoid it better.
Though this might increase the likelihood of a deer becoming frozen in your headlights, a driver is better at reacting to an obstacle than wildlife is reacting to oncoming traffic.

Light

 

[Corndart]

Hopefully Tesla started fitting matrix lights and working on the software at the same time. surely they wouldn’t keep the rest of the world in the dark just because the US didn’t have the regs updated, and there will already be region based differences in the software so US cars can still have dumb matrix lights until the rules changed?

Maybe they’re not ready with the software? While I think they have a samsung chip in, I hope the ‘upstream’ part - the camera used to pass the information to drive the chip - works better than auto high beams. I think most other cars use a fairly normal camera so should be doable, but lets see.

Agreed on your first point. If they built for the SAE J3069 specifications, then it's probably a minor lift to make them US compliant.

 

[Mrbrock]

I did pore over the 300 some odd page ruling and there are some complexities there, specifically, an ADB headlight tested and authorized for use overseas may not meet US requirements because they did NOT simply adopt SAE J3069 or the European (ECE) standard. There are a lot of similarities with SAE J3069 in the new ruling, but it may require sensors not equipped in the vehicle/headlight that look for oncoming traffic to reduce glare, that would make it difficult to be a software-only compliance option. Hopefully the plethora of cameras the Tesla vehicles have are sufficient but until they test, it won't be certain.

This is what I was trying to say but not getting the right point across, thank you for digging deeper and getting across the specifics in plain speak. Teslas current global lights might not pass these new regulations. If they pass, yes, older cars with these lights should be able to comply with a simple software update. But if they don’t and it can’t be fixed by software, then Tesla would need to redesign the headlight (maybe) or the car (unlikely) with more sensors or other tech. I’m in the less than 50% chance of Teslas lights being legal in the US camp.

 

[Mrklaw]

the projector units are Hella with Samsung matrix chip I think - so they should be standardised I think? Doesn't mean the end to end sensor-light path will fully comply of course

 

[kleinja]

Not sure if the plan is to run brights all the time but matrix headlights are an FSD necessity given its need to occasionally flick the bright headlights for longer distant night time viewing.

I agree. I absolutely hate enabling AP at night, and the high beams kicking on. I always manually push the stalk to disable high beams right after enabling AP. Though sometimes it still flashes the brights. I really hate doing that because if there is a car approaching me in the other lane I flash them.

Really hoping the matrix deployment can drop as a software update and it removes this problem for everyone

 

[ProjectTrinity]

I agree. I absolutely hate enabling AP at night, and the high beams kicking on. I always manually push the stalk to disable high beams right after enabling AP. Though sometimes it still flashes the brights. I really hate doing that because if there is a car approaching me in the other lane I flash them.

Really hoping the matrix deployment can drop as a software update and it removes this problem for everyone

Yup. I still occasionally get blinded by oncoming M3/MY high beams. Not sure if it’s the auto hi beams or if the driver is just dumb and doesn’t know their hi beams are on.

 

[Mrbrock]

I agree. I absolutely hate enabling AP at night, and the high beams kicking on. I always manually push the stalk to disable high beams right after enabling AP. Though sometimes it still flashes the brights. I really hate doing that because if there is a car approaching me in the other lane I flash them.

Really hoping the matrix deployment can drop as a software update and it removes this problem for everyone

Everyone except all the non MYP and M3 owners.