Laser Headlights Promise More Intense, Controllable Beams

cartechboy writes "Soon, your new car's headlights will be powered by lasers. The 2015 BMW i8 is entering production, and it's the first vehicle to offer laser headlights. These new beams offer a handful of advantages over LED lighting, including greater lighting intensity and extending the beams' reach as far as 600 meters down the road (nearly double the range of LEDs). The beam pattern also can be controlled very precisely. Plus, laser lights consumer about 30 percent less energy than the already-efficient LED lights. Audi is among the short list of other auto manufacturers to promise laser lights in the near future. But the coolest part of all this? When you turn on a set of these new headlights, you'll be able to scream, 'fire the lasers!'"

Re:brighter?

[Anonymous Coward]

New car headlights are horribly bright, hurt my eyes, and the LED taillights are almost as bad.

I doubt that

[Anonymous Coward]

I am quite certain these laser headlights will be brighter and more blinding than even the current too-bright headlights are, regardless of what you say.

Two Strikes

[SuperKendall]

I can't be the only one who thinks that the headlights on certain luxury cars are already annoyingly bright to other drivers.

Yes they are. So why not make them more directional so you can get brightness in a more specific area without dispersal... I wonder what kind of light technology could make that possible.

Oh and beta sucks.

Can't get a boycott right either I see. The overall quality of writing on Slashdot has improved this week, why not joint the rest of them and increase it further.

Re:brighter?

[tgv]

Yes, indeed, but you've already mentioned the main problem: "quite powerful". If the light is more concentrated, it will also be more concentrated when it hits the eye of the driver in the other direction.

Re:great..

[sonamchauhan]

The sun doesn't tailgate you at night.

There is no laser light comming out

[Ivan Stepaniuk]

Blue lasers positioned at the rear of the assembly fire onto a set of mirrors closer to the front. Those mirrors focus the laser energy into a lens filled with yellow phosphorus. The yellow phosphorus, when excited by the blue laser, emits an intense white light.

There is no coherent laser light coming out from the headlight.

Re:brighter?

[Simon Brooke]

Strongly agree. The problem is (in the UK at least) the limit to legal brightness is set in watts; it needs to be set in lumens.

Fun, wow

[Maury Markowitz]

So the focused ones that blind me every time they go over a bump in the road is now going to be even worse?

Great.

Re:..you'll be able to scream, 'fire the lasers!'"

[Noxal]

I cry with joy every time I see a BMW's turn signals actually being used. I softly tell myself "Yes! Somebody that ACTUALLY DESERVES such a fine car!"

Re:brighter?

[Oligonicella]

The ones with the blue tint are very painful.

Re:..you'll be able to scream, 'fire the lasers!'"

[Gr8Apes]

Of course, they could always turn their headlights "off" and then run you over while you're walking your black dog because they didn't see you in your black jeans and brown leather jacket. There's a reason drivers hit the high beams when there's no oncoming traffic, it's so they can see those types of people on unlit or poorly lit residential streets. I'll also note that there's no reason for the dog walker to stare into the headlights. Looking to the side should be easy, given the extra light.

Re:..you'll be able to scream, 'fire the lasers!'"

[operagost]

the idiots who think that turning on their high beams any time that there isn't an oncoming car is a good idea

So when is a good time? I use a flagger who walks in front of my car. If he doesn't see anyone walking his dog, he gives me the signal to turn on the brights.

Re:..you'll be able to scream, 'fire the lasers!'"

[operagost]

This kind of shit is why I started saying, "Make it so."

- Jean-Luc Picard

Re:brighter?

[MoronBob]

And there seems to be a big assumption that these headlights will never be misaligned like 4 out of 5 cars on the road today.