Software simulates performance of automotive headlamps

A pixel light system subdivides the headlamp light pattern into angular segments that can be controlled individually and adjusted to accommodate changing driving and traffic conditions. Because the adaptability of pixel headlamps can substantially increase night-driving safety, advancing this technology has become a focus for automotive OEMs and lighting suppliers.

The LucidDrive AFS Masking PixelLight feature simulates pixel light technology by detecting oncoming and overtaking traffic, calculating bounding boxes and creating user-definable shadow masks in headlamp light distributions. These functions are useful for automotive designers in both development and testing phases of pixel light systems.

In addition, LucidDrive simulations have been improved in this release with performance enhancements:

• Vehicle models for right-hand traffic have been streamlined to reduce their calculation power consumption
• Vehicle detection has been enhanced to achieve higher performance when detecting traffic participants in AFS and advanced driving beam (ADB) simulations

"Virtual night-driving simulations provide an ideal platform to assess the dynamic-response capabilities of AFS systems," said George Bayz, Vice President of Synopsys' Optical Solutions Group. "The LucidDrive AFS Masking PixelLight provides high-performance, reliable verification of pixel light system response to drive curves, steering inputs, traffic encounters and other road situations, without requiring expensive physical prototypes to complete these tests."