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Alexander BesantJuly 11, 2012 12:49
Smart headlights can see through rain (VIDEO)
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed car headlights that redirect light around raindrops to make driving in rainy conditions safer.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed car headlights that redirect light around raindrops to make driving in rainy conditions safer.
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Headlights that can see through rain created by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. (Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images)
Headlights that can see through rain developed by scientists.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed car headlights that redirect light around raindrops to make driving in rainy conditions safer.
The new headlights reduce glare caused by the reflection of the lights off raindrops.
“If you’re driving in a thunderstorm, the smart headlights will make it seem like it’s a drizzle,” said Srinivasa Narasimhan, associate professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, reported Futurity.
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According to UPI, the system uses a camera that tracks raindrops as they are falling.
The computer within the camera then creates an algorithm to predict where the drops will fall a few milliseconds later, adjusting the light beams from the headlights to dodge them.
The whole detection and dimming process takes only 13 milliseconds, reported CNet.
Narasimhan says that many technical challenges remain including unforseen bumps and turbulence from driving, which make predicting rainfall difficult.
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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/science/120711/smart-headlights-can-see-through-rain-video
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