It’s coming closer to a car that YOU drive. The lighting system that sees around corners. And though as yet it is only original equipment on the new Audi A8 and a forthcoming high-end Merc, you can actually buy it as an add-on system for your own car.

Hella in Germany is one of the best-known lighting system developers in the automotive world. And the company has been working with both Audi and Mercedes-Benz to develop this innovation. And really, the arrival of sophisticated sensoring for all manner of car systems is the key to it being possible.

The system as used in the new version of the Audi A8 involves a free-form reflector with halogen bulb positioned at an angle of approximately 15 degrees between the dipped beam and main beam and aiming its light to the side. A control module evaluates the parameters of speed, steering angle and turn signal. The cornering light is switched on in addition to the dipped beams, depending on the speed, when the driver actuates the turn signal before turning (not when changing lanes) or drives through tight curves.

In a curve to the right or when turning to the right, the right headlamp is activated, in left-hand curves or when turning to the left, the left headlamp. When reversing, both illuminate to improve orientation. The cornering light illuminates the area of the road which usually remains dark. In bad weather, the safety advantage is particularly great.

The dipped beam light is provided by a projection-type module with aspheric glass lens and 70-millimetre diameter as a high-performance bi-xenon system or with H7 halogen bulb depending on the vehicle equipment.

The main beam function uses a free-form reflector with H7 halogen bulb. Dynamic headlamp levellers ensure that the entire headlamp unit is always positioned at the optimum angle of inclination to the road. In addition to reacting to changed load states, and it also automatically compensates for acceleration and braking manoeuvres in fractions of a second.

The Mercedes-Benz application is currently proving in test vehicles operated by the Stuttgart-based car manufacturer.

Illumination of the traffic lane is improved by up to 90 percent as a result: whereas conventional dipped headlamps provide illumination for a distance of some 90 feet when entering a curve with a radius of 623 feet, the new headlamp design extends this range by another 82 feet. As the light distribution is matched to the steering angle, the driver is able to see the course of the curve at an early stage and can adapt his or her driving style accordingly.

Electric motors swivel the bi-xenon modules in accordance with the steering angle and constantly match the swivel to the speed of the car: where the headlamps follow the steering-wheel angle almost instantaneously during high-speed driving. The swiveling mechanism operates at a correspondingly slower speed when the car is proceeding at a more modest rate in order to ensure that the driver can relate to the way the beam pattern changes.

Dynamic headlamp range adjustment - a standard feature of Mercedes-Benz models equipped with bi-xenon headlamps - also works with the new cornering headlamp system in order to prevent oncoming drivers from being dazzled. Controlled by sensors, this system detects the movements of the vehicle body and adjusts the headlamp settings accordingly.

For the aftermarket market, Hella has developed the DynaView system as a set of auxiliary lights, as part of its patented Intellibeam technology programme.

The heart of the DynaView control center is the yaw rate sensor which permanently records the current transverse acceleration condition of the vehicle – as soon as it detects the corner, the sensor switches the correct cornering lamp on.

One individual DynaView headlamp actually consists of two headlamps in a high-tech housing with dual reflectors. While the upper reflector chamber is responsible for the conventional high beam light, the lower reflector chamber has been optimized for the inside illumination of the curve using asymmetrical free-form (FF) technology.

This ‘division of labor’ means that optimum light is always available – depending on the current transverse acceleration of the vehicle. For straight stretches of road the strong, straight high beam, for driving around bends the auxiliary cornering light, which is aligned to the sides of the road.

To prevent unpleasant ‘holes’ being formed in the beam, a dimmer gently decreases the brightness of the cornering-lamp beam automatically.

The DynaView driving lamp system is sold as a complete kit. Along with the two dual headlamps – each optimized for either left or right-hand bends – the kit includes the control unit with yaw rate sensor and a professional cable set for quick installation. The complete system has been specifically designed for heavy-duty continuous use under difficult conditions and is thus ideally suited for trucks, motor homes and off-road vehicles.

Even in off-road situations, DynaView reacts to any change in direction with the correct cornering light.