In an optical sensor, a detecting part includes detecting elements, and a light-shielding portion providing directional characteristics of light to the detecting elements such that the detecting elements indicate different intensities of light received in a specified direction. A signal processing part has an adjustment value for processing detection signals. The adjustment value is set as follows. Based on information of an inclination angle of a window glass of a vehicle to which the detecting part is attached, from the detecting elements, a detecting element having a directional characteristic of light suitable for the inclination angle is selected. The adjustment value is then set so as to coincide a signal value of a detection signal of the selected detecting element with a target value, when the detecting part is irradiated with light in a predetermined direction in a state where the detecting part is inclined at the inclination angle.

A control device is configured to provide route information for a vehicle and includes: a headlamp configured to irradiate light in a forward direction of the vehicle; a sensing unit configured to sense at least one sign located in the forward direction of the vehicle; and at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to, based on a first portion of the at least one sign corresponding to first route information of the vehicle, control the headlamp to irradiate the light on the first portion of the at least one sign that corresponds to the first route information of the vehicle.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods are provided for the utilization of vehicle control systems to cause a vehicle to take preventative action responsive to the detection of a near short term adverse driving scenario. A vehicle control system may receive information corresponding to vehicle operator data and ancillary data. Based on the received vehicle operator data and the received ancillary data, a multi-dimension risk score module may calculate risk scores associated with the received vehicle operator data and the received ancillary data. Subsequently, the vehicle control systems may cause the vehicle to perform at least one of a close call detection action and a close call detection alert to lessen the risk associated with the received vehicle operator data and the received ancillary data.

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.

Each of a pair of left and right vehicle head lamps includes a plurality of optical units in a lamp chamber. A variable light distribution type optical unit that changes a light distribution mode of a high beam depending on a surrounding state and a traveling state of a vehicle is disposed in a first vehicle head lamp on a passenger seat side, and a figure drawing optical unit capable of forming a desired figure on a road surface in front of the vehicle by emitted light is disposed at a position symmetrical to the variable light distribution type optical unit in a second vehicle head lamp on a driver seat side.

A vehicle head lamp includes a spatial light modulator and a control device. The vehicle head lamp forms a desired light distribution pattern by radiating light forward via the spatial light modulator, a high luminous intensity region and a low luminous intensity region adjacent to an outer edge of the high luminous intensity region are formed in the desired light distribution pattern to be irradiated by controlling the spatial light modulator, the low luminous intensity region is configured such that the luminous intensity decreases gradationally from the outer edge of the high luminous intensity region toward an outside of the low luminous intensity region, and the control device controls the spatial light modulator so as to relatively change at least one of sizes, luminous intensities, and positions of the high luminous intensity region and the low luminous intensity region based on a traveling condition of a vehicle.

A method is provided for operating a headlight having a laser light source in a motor vehicle. The headlight generates a light distribution from the light of the laser light source. The laser light source is activated such that the operating power of the laser light source is switched from a first power value to a deactivated operating state or is lowered to a second power value when the speed of the motor vehicle falls below a first speed threshold. The operating power of the laser light source is increased from the deactivated operating state or from the second power value to the first power value, when the speed of the motor vehicle exceeds a second speed threshold, which is greater than or equal to the first speed threshold.

The invention relates to a method for managing image data in an motor vehicle lighting system, the lighting system including at least one lighting module intended to project light beams generated on the basis of data relating to the selection of at least one image. The method including receiving an instruction to activate at least one image to be projected, converting the original image into N grey levels, determining, for each pixel in each row in the matrix, whether the pixel under analysis is a significant point of inflection, storing the pixel under analysis as a compressed pixel in a list when the pixel under analysis is considered to be a significant point of inflection, and transmitting the list to the at least one lighting module so that it is able to project a resulting image.

The method of the invention comprises: obtaining a sequence of at least two images, with different levels of illumination; extracting the region containing the sign in the image; calculating the luminance values of the signs; and obtaining the difference in luminance of the sign corresponding to the two levels of illumination. The value obtained is the luminance of the sign (11) corresponding to an illumination equal to the difference between the illuminations, or additional illumination. This result is based on the additive property of luminance, according to which the luminance of a sign is the sum of the luminance produced by each source of illumination. A basic illumination device (5), an additional illumination device (7), at least one camera for taking images, and image recording, positioning and synchronism systems are required to implement the method.