SensorsDynamic Head light levelling

Automotive headlight illumination technology has advanced lately. Brighter headlights have generated a need to control the beam actively in order not to blind other drivers in traffic. Bumps in the roads, accelerations and breaking move the car chassis momentarily, which may move the headlight beams momentarily in adverse angle and temporarily blind other drivers. Static load changes also affect the headlight inclination. All this can be compensated by measuring the actual inclination of the vehicle chassis dynamically and adjusting the headlight beam angle accordingly.

Murata's accelerometer and inclinometer sensors are especially good for this application, because they are accurate and robust against high vibrations. This application requires very high sensor performance for the measurement of the longitudinal inclination of the car. Basic performance is better than ±3 accuracy, which requires better than 50mg stability of the accelerometer over full temperature range and lifetime. More advanced leveling systems can be implemented by using two or three axis inclinometers or even combo sensors that measures also chassis angular rate in addition to inclination.

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