Headlights - Active high beam vs Adaptive Shadow Technology

[Torshen]

Originally Posted by niavlysj

like that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGgOrUqxSSA
(found quickly on youtube)

Cheers. That's the kind of thing. Would have been easier to find if they'd titled it correctly. The technology in action there is not really Active High Beam, it's Adaptive Shadow Technology.

Interesting to see it's a blunt switch on/off for each sector of the beam. I thought it would be a smoother tracking of the shadow area across the range.

As it recognises pedestrians, presumably you could start your car then get out and walk around in front and see it in action from the outside too, could you? Anyone tried it?

[Lexman8]

Side illumination of the lane or road is on-off but I've seen mine move the shadow across the centre section of the beam to accommodate the vehicle in front. Sometimes, as in the video, it's more of a main-dip change. It seems to depend upon how much time the system has had to track the other object(s). In theory, it can track up to 8 objects.

[niavlysj]

Originally Posted by Torshen

Interesting to see it's a blunt switch on/off for each sector of the beam. I thought it would be a smoother tracking of the shadow area across the range.

not exactly that, you may see some time the beam folow the vehicle ahead without any switching off.

In fact, the switching off appears only on the limits of each beam, but the beam moves. that why I said before it is a mechanical adaptive beam

dismantle a complete headlamp to confirm (but the price may stop you )

[TheDufster]

Sorry if I've missed something here, but I wonder if someone could clarify something for me.

What is the difference between "active high beam" and "adaptive shadow technology"?

I am in the process of trying to configure a new car. The Momentum comes with "active high beam" which I believe is what I've got in my current MY16 Momentum. I turn the dial on the stalk and the display lights up an "A" in blue. The headlights on high beam adjust themselves automatically for oncoming traffic, street lights, cars in front etc.

So what does "adaptive shadow technology" do? It's not an option to add on the Momentum but comes as standard on the Inscription.

[Torshen]

Originally Posted by TheDufster

What is the difference between "active high beam" and "adaptive shadow technology"?

Both adjust lights automatically to avoid dazzling other road users, but they do it in different ways.

AHB - just simply dips the lights and then puts them back up to high beam once anyone that might be dazzled has gone.

AST - high beam remains on the whole time but it blanks out portions of the beam relevant to where the other traffic is. So if the road is completely clear apart from an oncoming cyclist over to the far right, it will only blank out the far right side of the beam. So the cyclist avoids being dazzled but you still get high beam across the rest of your view, just not the far right.

[Quacker]

If you have AST you will also have AHB. Controlled by the indicator stalk, you can use standard manual control, or if you turn the switch to Auto you get active high beam, which dips and returns automatically, with conventional dip. A further turn of the switch, against a spring, switches on shadow technology that turns sections of the main beam off and on and also adjusts the reflector angles to actively aim the light. It also fully dips when in street lights etc.

[pagan8c]

Originally Posted by chrisrixy

Yes - standard on Incription & R-Design I think.

I added it as an option to a Momentum - and it's worth every penny if you live in a rural area. Not only does it light up much more of the verges as cars come towards you, it also somehow dips the central section of the lights when you are following a car in front - but still lights up both sides of the road,
Excellent when there could be deer lurking there.
It seems to sense street lights and dips fully as soon as you are in an illuminated area.
No one has yet flashed me to say they were being dazzled.

Exactly my feeling as well as I have it on my V90 Inscription and it is amazing how it works and so quick you couldn't do it manually as fast. I have got it on my new XC90 I pick up tomorrow.

[gaby]

I wonder how what it is like when an upcoming car has AST, must be a strange view,
light everywhere except where you are driving.
There might be a difference of opinion on this feature between the driver of the car
with AST and the ones without.

[uro1]

For oncoming traffic it is not that noticeable as everything in their arc of view IS diped. It is more evident for cars driving before you.
I have it in my XC60 now with Xenon lights. And I have had cars with older halogen based lights in front of me switching their high beams of and on as if to look at my clearly brighter light cones beside them. That effect should be even more noticeable with the LDE´s on the new cars.

[NickHoward]

I had a chance to try my AST for the first time yesterday.

It worked really well on the country lanes with few cars around - The sensors picked up the cars from quite a distance away and shaded out their side of the road - However, I still would have switched off the high beam much earlier (think, long straight on a country road, you can see them coming from a long way away).

I also love how the AST works on main roads - It is visually pleasing to see the lights come on and off across different parts of the road.

However...... I don't feel the AST works in these situations - I was flashed twice in a relatively short space of time for bright lights.

Part of the problem may well have been the fact I was following a lorry, so the sensor couldn't pick up the oncoming car until it was too late - It did turn off the dazzling part of the light once it saw the car, but it would have already hit them by that point.

In those situations (main road, lots of traffic), it's probably best not to turn on the AST anyway (I just wanted to try it out!).