R2 Matrix Headlights in Action

[racekarl]

I've been curious why people are promoting the R2 as the first car with matrix headlights in the US. My friend's 2021 Model 3 had them and they were activated a couple years ago in a software update. The R2 is definitely not the first.

You're replying to a post that says the R1 was the first, not the R2...

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[Dark-Fx]

I've been curious why people are promoting the R2 as the first car with matrix headlights in the US. My friend's 2021 Model 3 had them and they were activated a couple years ago in a software update. The R2 is definitely not the first.

Rivian was the first to get certified in the US, Tesla was very shortly after that.

My Polestar 2 in 2021 had adaptive high beams as well, but they weren't legal here when the car was released, and they never bothered to go through the certification process after it was allowed in 2022 under FMVSS. It was possible to enable them with an aftermarket tool, but I never bothered.

The rules in the USA are more strict than in Europe, which is why it took several years for anyone to certify them here. I think the issue is primarily around how much delay is allowed before the beams are turned off.

 

[racekarl]

Europe has had anti-dazzle headlights for YEARS. Our hard-working representatives in Washington only recently loosened the 1960s era regulations to allow matrix headlights. But somehow all those Euro makes are still not offering them widely.

This is a pet peeve of mine. The US did not "loosen" regulations to allow these headlights, nor did we have our heads up our rears all those years that Europe had them and we did not.

There is a lot more to it, but essentially European headlight regulations are basically subjective: if a tester decides that the headlights don't blind other drivers, they are OK to ship. US regulations are objective: the government publishes a specification and test procedures with measurements, and the lights have to pass those tests.

The delay in bringing these headlights to the US had a lot to do with the difficulty of writing specs and procedures for a technology that by design is adaptive and dynamic.

The reason that many of the existing European headlights are not US legal are that they were designed before the US regs existed and do not comply with them yet.

 

[Millbarge]

This is a pet peeve of mine. The US did not "loosen" regulations to allow these headlights, nor did we have our heads up our rears all those years that Europe had them and we did not.

There is a lot more to it, but essentially European headlight regulations are basically subjective: if a tester decides that the headlights don't blind other drivers, they are OK to ship. US regulations are objective: the government publishes a specification and test procedures with measurements, and the lights have to pass those tests.

The delay in bringing these headlights to the US had a lot to do with the difficulty of writing specs and procedures for a technology that by design is adaptive and dynamic.

The reason that many of the existing European headlights are not US legal are that they were designed before the US regs existed and do not comply with them yet.

If you don't like "loosen", then let's use the term in the Federal Register release: "amend."

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...ive-devices-and-associated-equipment-adaptive

The fact is that the US had archaic regulations that prohibited technologies like anti-dazzle adaptive headlights and laser beam headlights. The US should strive to be on the forefront of technology like this which has been around for years.

The same problem exists with "No more than XX forward facing lights"--LED technology makes this standard irrelevant.

 

[CrazyOne]

Is the matrix part on just the high beams or also on the regular low beam headlights (not DRL, but the actual headlights)? And is the feature able to be disabled?

I could see the jittery edges getting annoying/distracting, especially if it is falsely identifying reflective objects. Don't get me wrong, I love the matrix headlight tech and wish the US had allowed it sooner. I think it is just the relatively low "resolution" of these that is potentially concerning me. Maybe it won't be so noticeable in practice as it is in the video.

I get motion sickness and would prefer an abrupt change rather than a gradual one. A gradual change is hard for the brain to process - mine anyway. Our CX-9 has turning headlights and they make me sick. They have been disabled for the past 9 years.

 

[maba2366]

I don't know where you are getting that impression. There are multiple sources, some long established car rags saying Rivian is the first to do so, in the US, with gen2 R1. I don't know how Tesla does theirs in the '21 M3 and I don't much care TBH. Adaptive headlights and matrix headlights aren't techically equals. Matrix can tailor its beam distribution to a much wider degree than adaptive designs. Adaptive headlights has been in the US long before 2021. And no one has ever claimed R2 is the first from Rivian to have matrix headlights. If anyone did, it's flat out false. Tesla didn't start to put matrix headlights in their cars (MY) until last year.

BMW has been using Matrix headlights for many years. US cars had the software turned off, but it was very easy to turn the feature back on. Matrix headlights are an amazing feature and one of the best safety features when driving at night in areas where the roads aren't lit.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

BMW has been using Matrix headlights for many years. US cars had the software turned off, but it was very easy to turn the feature back on. Matrix headlights are an amazing feature and one of the best safety features when driving at night in areas where the roads aren't lit.

In the US Rivian was first to receive US Federal approval, for sale and use in production cars in the US. Look it up. The end.

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