A vehicular forward viewing image capture system includes an accessory module configured for attachment at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle, whereby a CMOS image sensor views through the windshield forward of the vehicle. With the accessory module attached at the in-cabin side of the windshield, and while the vehicle is traveling along a road, captured image data is processed to determine movement of an object of interest viewed by the image sensor. Multiple frames of captured image data are processed in determining movement of the object of interest. The accessory module includes an electrical connector for electrically connecting to a vehicle wiring system of the vehicle. Image data captured by the image sensor may be processed for an automatic headlamp control system of the equipped vehicle. The vehicular forward viewing image capture system may compensate for misalignment of the image sensor.

A lighting ECU determines whether or not a road sign relating to an urban area or a residential area is detected, while it is performing an automatic high beam control. When the detected road sign is a road sign indicating a start point of the urban area or of the residential area, the lighting ECU terminates the automatic high beam control, and maintain a light distribution pattern to a pattern corresponding to low beam. The lighting ECU restarts the automatic high beam control, when the detected road sign is a road sign indicating an end point of the urban area or of the residential area.

Systems, apparatus, methods, and computer program products to enhance the operation of a light system. A light apparatus includes an optical member to project light, one or more elastically deformable position adjustment members, and one or more light sources. The elastically deformable position adjustment members are operable to adjust a mounting position of the optical member, and include one or more photochromatic regions to facilitate movement of the one or more elastically deformable position adjustment members from a contracted state to an expanded state in response to exposure to UV light. The one or more light sources operable to selectively emit illuminating UV light in a direction that contacts the one or more photochromatic regions to thereby adjust a mounting position of the optical member and change a direction of light emitted by the lighting apparatus.

A lighting system for a vehicle having a vehicle structure has a housing and a lens. A plurality of light sources are disposed within the housing. A sensor is disposed between the housing and the lens and senses a condition outside the lens.

Off-road lighting control systems and methods are disclosed herein. An example vehicle can include off-road lighting mounted to an outside of the vehicle, as well as a controller including a processor and memory. The processor executes instructions in memory to determine a category of a road that the vehicle is located on using location-based information and automatically control the off-road lighting based on the category of the road.

A headlamp (10) for a motor vehicle has a first projection device (12) for illuminating a wide surface (18) and a second projection device (14) laterally offset from the first projection device (12) for illuminating a narrow surface (20) lying within the wide surface (18). Intensity profiles (22, 24) of light emitted by the first and second projection devices (12, 14) are matched in the lateral direction such that, in at least one lateral peripheral region of the narrow surface (20), a gradual transition to the intensity in the wide surface (18) outside the narrow surface (2) and a substantially constant intensity between the lateral peripheral regions of the narrow surface (20) within the narrow surface (20) occur. Intensity profiles (22, 24) of the projection devices (12, 14) are designed for a shorter distance than a projection distance designated for the wide surface (18) and the narrow surface (20).

A vehicle headlight system can include a headlight controller and a lamp unit incorporating a high beam module, which can emit favorable marking lights while the headlight controller associates each of a shading driver and a swivel structure with a shading width setter and a swivel setter, respectively. When a forward vehicle does not exist in a forward direction, the headlight systems can provide favorable light distribution patterns by overlapping the light distribution pattern projected from the high beam module with each of light distribution patterns for a high and low beam. When the forward vehicle exists, the headlight system can prevent the lamp unit from emitting a glare type light to the forward vehicle. Thus, the disclosed subject matter can provide vehicle headlight systems, which can emit favorable light patterns toward a pedestrian as a marking light, and which can provide favorable light distribution patterns to drive at night.

A vehicular light switch can change the mode of an exterior-illuminating light by rotating to different positions including an auto setting and a SMALL setting. If the position of the vehicular light switch is rotated to the SMALL setting, a momentary mechanism returns the position to the auto setting. If extravehicular brightness is less than a prescribed value and the position is rotated to the SMALL setting whilst the vehicle is stationary, a first light controller turns off a low-beam light, and turns on the low-beam light if the vehicle runs afterwards. If extravehicular brightness is less than a prescribed value and the position is rotated to the SMALL setting while the vehicle is running, a second light controller keeps the low-beam light turned on.

A lighting system for a vehicle having a housing, a plurality of elements generating an intensity of light and a controller. The controller selectively changing the intensity of at least one of the plurality of elements based on a sensed condition.

An illumination apparatus that illuminates an illumination zone having a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction is provided with a light source to emit a coherent light beam, and a diffraction optical device to diffract the coherent light beam incident from the light source. The diffraction optical device diffracts the incident coherent light beam so that a width of the illumination zone in the second direction gradually becomes wider along the first direction of the illumination zone from a nearer side to the diffraction optical device.