High-resolution headlights: Sales gimmick or helpful technology?

Every year, we see incredible new technology and innovations introduced into the motoring world – and 2022 is no different.

Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and some of the world’s leading manufacturers have recently revealed details of their work on the idea which could appear on its vehicles in the very near future.

They showcased high-resolution headlights, which use the road surface as a canvas to display symbols for other road users and pedestrians.

This includes directional prompts from the onboard sat-nav system and weather-related information like the ice warning symbol. Traditionally, these would only appear as displays on a dashboard or touchscreen.

It is also hoped that the tech can warn the driver of dangerous road condition ahead of them – along with traffic warnings.

The technology could also be used to display the width of a vehicle – so when a driver is travelling down a tighter road, it can make it easier for all road users to know what space is available to them.

In the cars from these manufacturers, each of the headlights containing this type of technology has an innovative microchip.

The chip feeds information about the vehicle’s surroundings to its computer and then projects the relevant display.

Clearly this technology could prove useful to drivers for many different reasons. However, detractors could argue that this is just a sales gimmick as a road users should be aware of their surroundings and current sat navs do the job of guiding people to their destinations.

Also, projections could block road conditions, distract other road users, or even overlay other cars projections.