For decades, most automobile headlights were fairly uncomplicated. They pointed fixedly ahead, with separate high beams for greater visibility on dark roads. Then came the more energy-efficient halogen and xenon lights and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Now, automakers are pioneering a generation of "smart" headlights that can automatically adjust their brightness or direction depending on conditions. And a coming wave of laser high beams promises to illuminate the road ahead for a third of a mile – twice the range of LED high-beam headlights – while using less energy.
Audi and BMW are racing to be the first carmakers to offer laser lights in a production car: BMW in its i8 plug-in hybrid and Audi in a yet-to-be-named model (maybe the Quattro) by 2015.
"We'll be able to extend the range of headlights to (a distance of) six football fields," said Filip Brabec, director of product management for Audi. That's 600 yards, or more than three north-south blocks in New York.
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