Audi's Matrix LED headlights can automatically dim and illuminate different sections of the reflector in response to road and lighting conditions. Photo courtesy Audi.

Audi's Matrix LED headlights can automatically dim and illuminate different sections of the reflector in response to road and lighting conditions. Photo courtesy Audi.

Audi has developed new lighting technology called Audi Matrix LED headlights that will debut on the automaker’s new A8 at the end of this year. The company said the headlights activate, deactivate, or dim individually according to light levels, without the driver needing to manually control them.

The Audi Matrix LED lights are made of 25 high-bream LEDs arranged in groups of five on each reflector. When the switch for the lights is set to automatic, and the high-beam headlights are on, the system activates at 18.64 mph on highways and at 37.28 mph on city streets. A camera system on the A8 detects oncoming vehicles and the closer an oncoming vehicle gets, the Audi Matrix headlights will dim sections on the high-beam headlights in order to avoid affecting other drivers’ vision.

Another safety feature on the A8 that this lighting technology provides is marker lights. They work with the optional night vision assistant to mark pedestrians that the system detects. When it does detect a pedestrian in front of the vehicle, LEDs flash at the pedestrian rapidly three times, thereby alerting the pedestrian and the driver. The LEDs on the Audi Matrix headlights can also adjust as the vehicle goes around corners.

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