Automotive Lighting and Human Vision (eBook)

Burkard Wördenweber obtained his PhD in computer science at Cambridge University, England. He headed Hella's Corporate R&D and founded the L-LAB. He is an honorary Professor at Paderborn University. Since 2004 he is in charge of Advanced Engineering at Visteon. He has published a number of books on Innovation Management. Jörg Wallaschek received his PhD from the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany. He is Professor of Mechatronics and Dynamics at the University of Paderborn and founded the L-LAB where he acts as chairman for the university partners. Peter Boyce received his PhD from the University of Reading, England. He has been active in the field of lighting research for many years, in both the UK and the USA. He is Professor Emeritus at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and author of Human Factors in Lighting. Donald Hoffman obtained his PhD at MIT. He is Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California, and author of Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See. He received the Distinguished Scientific Award of the American Psychological Association, and the Troland Award of the National Academy of Sciences.  

Preface 5
Contents 6
1 Introduction 14
How Vision constructs reality – Man is not a nocturnal creature! 14
Automotive Lighting State-of-the-Art – Luckily we already have lights on our cars 16
Fundamental Problems with Automotive Lighting – Lighting systems today are a compromise 17
Automotive Lighting and Mechatronics – New technologies paired with a better understanding of the real needs lead to better systems 18
2 How Vision Constructs Reality 20
2.1 Visual construction 20
2.1.1 Constructing shape and depth 21
2.1.2 Constructing shading and colour 27
2.1.3 Constructing objects and their parts 34
2.1.4 Limits of attention 40
2.1.5 General principles 40
2.2 Models of visual perception 44
2.2.1 Signal detection theory 44
2.2.2 Vision as bayesian inference 52
2.2.3 Vision, evolution, and user interface 54
2.3 Visual structure and capabilities 59
2.3.1 The physiology of vision 59
2.3.2 Continuous adjustments of the visual system 71
2.3.3 Visual capabilities 83
2.3.4 Conclusions 104
3 Automotive Lighting - State of the Art 105
3.1 Headlamps 106
3.1.1 Installation and function 107
3.1.2 Optical concepts 110
3.1.3 Design aspects of headlamps 126
3.1.4 Quality in development and production 131
3.1.5 Day and night appearance 152
3.1.6 Advanced front lighting 156
3.1.7 Night vision systems 163
3.2 Rear and signal lights 169
3.2.1 Installation and functions 170
3.2.2 Design concepts 172
3.2.3 Optical concepts 173
3.2.4 Styling freedom 181
3.2.5 Adaptive signal lights 194
3.3 Interior lighting 195
3.3.1 Installation and function 195
3.3.2 Filling space with light and colour 206
3.3.3 Special light sources 207
3.3.4 Control systems 209
3.4 Ever-changing technologies for luminaires 211
3.4.1 Man made light sources 211
3.4.2 Electronics for lighting 225
3.4.3 Materials for lighting 231
3.5 Updating standards 255
4 Fundamental Problems with Automo-tive Lighting 272
4.1 Mesopic vision 272
4.1.1 Mesopic vision – The problem 272
4.1.2 Performance in mesopic vision 274
4.1.3 Implications for practice 279
4.1.4 Mesopic vision – Conclusion 281
4.2 Glare 282
4.2.1 The forms of glare 282
4.2.2 The quantification of glare 286
4.2.3 Performance in the presence of glare 289
4.2.4 Recovery from glare 299
4.2.5 Behaviour in glare 301
4.2.6 Glare in practice 303
4.2.7 Xenon and halogen headlights 304
4.2.8 Conclusion 307
5 Automotive Lighting and Mechatronics 310
5.1 Introduction 310
5.1.1 Limitations of passive lighting systems 310
5.1.2 Technology push 314
5.1.3 Solving conflicts with active systems 314
5.1.4 The promises of active lighting systems 315
5.2 Automotive lighting systems from the perspective of mechatronics 316
5.2.1 Systems, energy, mass and information flows 316
5.2.2 System structure of classical headlamp systems 318
5.2.3 Mechatronic systems 321
5.2.4 Basic system structures for automotive lighting 322
5.3 Simplify your life Improving passive lighting by adding just a little touch of mechatronics 330
5.3.1 Switching the lights on and off automatically 330
5.3.2 Headlamp levelling 331
5.3.3 Dynamic bending 336
5.3.4 Interior light control 341
5.3.5 Lighting bus and wiring 347
5.4 Active lighting 347
5.4.1 Sensors and sensor systems for active lighting 348
5.4.2 Actuators for active lighting 354
5.4.3 Functional structures and functions of active lighting systems 363
5.4.4 Active signal lights 378
5.5 Adding additional channels of perception 386
5.6 Active lighting or additional displays? – The principle of immediacy 392
5.7 Lighting future 393
5.7.1 Rating of lighting systems 394
5.7.2 Recommendations 397
6 References 401