Motorists of the future could benefit from a new technology which project street signs and even zebra crossings onto roads to increase safety for all road users.

The lighting technology, which has been developed by Hyundai’s part’s off-shoot Mobis is being trialled as an alternative to heads-up displays but by being tied into the vehicle’s on-board computer is capable of delivering up-to-the-second information.

The system uses a series of 25,000 LEDs in the headlights to project the signs and messages onto the road in front of the vehicle. The advantage of delivering the information into a light shape is that the driver doesn’t have to take his eyes off the road.

The HD Lighting System includes 25,000 0.04 mm tiny LEDs, thinner than human hair. This is 250 times the number of LEDs in mass-produced LED headlamps (80-120). With additional LEDs, the lamp can modulate light more sensitively. It helps the lamp better locate objects and pedestrians.

It’s expected that the HD Lighting System will be best utilised on dark roads, where it can highlight speed bumps and also highway entry and exit points. The technology will also recognise pedestrians and show a virtual zebra-crossing when the car comes to a stop, part of a widger system of so-called ‘communication lighting’.

"It will drastically reduce accidents at night for both drivers and pedestrians," Hyundai said.

“The system not only gives real-time driving information like navigation and head-up displays but also enables communication with pedestrians," a Hyundai Mobis source said.

"This so-called communication lighting technology is becoming reality."

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