We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. Drivers have several ways to communicate with those around them: using a car horn, facial expressions, and certain hand gestures. Several prototype autonomous vehicles have also shown ways in which robo-cars can communicate with other drivers and pedestrians by displaying messages, symbols and even emoji. Mercedes-Benz is trying out messages projected on the road ahead via its F015 Luxury in Motion concept, as well as the ultra-luxurious Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, which starts at just over $168,000. The Digital Light system uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. Digital Light headlamps also work with a vehicle's sensors and navigation system to adjust lighting for a given location and situation and to detect other road users. The technology can create an extended head-up display by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. It can even overlay virtual lines on the road in a construction zone to show the driver the correct path or place crosswalk stripes on a street to let pedestrians know they have the right of way. And in a video Mercedes-Benz released last week, the Digital Light system is shown sending text messages to people outside the car. The messages featured in the video are fun and even flirty. But I wonder for several reasons if this is a good idea—and if it will ever come to this country. In the video, the Maybach is parked in a public plaza. Its Digital Light system warns a woman to "Look up" from her phone to avoid colliding with a cyclist, sends words of encouragement to a jogging woman, and compliments a man's outfit. It also displays music notes to a young woman and a heart with an arrow through it to an older couple. That's lovely, but would everyone send such positive messages? Or would misinterpreted messages fuel road rage? I also wonder if the technology would distract drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists in crowded urban areas. Of course, it would also be tempting for car owners and aftermarket companies to hack headlight messages to show missives Mercedes never intended. But all these concerns may be for naught since the Mercedes Digital Light system is just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting (think about those cool eye-lid LED daytime running lights most automakers have copied), has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art headlights to the US. Its matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on US roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the US either. Why? Because it doesn't adhere to archaic Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that require all vehicles to have headlights capable of only switching from high to low beams; the two can't blend together, which also rules out Mercedes' Digital Light tech. So until the feds change their views on headlight regulation and the Mercedes-Maybach Digital Light system trickles down to much lower-price vehicles, you'll have to keep using your horn and hand gestures to get your message across.
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We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. Drivers have several ways to communicate with those around them: using a car horn, facial expressions, and certain hand gestures. Several prototype autonomous vehicles have also shown ways in which robo-cars can communicate with other drivers and pedestrians by displaying messages, symbols and even emoji. Mercedes-Benz is trying out messages projected on the road ahead via its F015 Luxury in Motion concept, as well as the ultra-luxurious Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, which starts at just over $168,000. The Digital Light system uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. Digital Light headlamps also work with a vehicle's sensors and navigation system to adjust lighting for a given location and situation and to detect other road users. The technology can create an extended head-up display by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. It can even overlay virtual lines on the road in a construction zone to show the driver the correct path or place crosswalk stripes on a street to let pedestrians know they have the right of way. And in a video Mercedes-Benz released last week, the Digital Light system is shown sending text messages to people outside the car. The messages featured in the video are fun and even flirty. But I wonder for several reasons if this is a good idea—and if it will ever come to this country. In the video, the Maybach is parked in a public plaza. Its Digital Light system warns a woman to "Look up" from her phone to avoid colliding with a cyclist, sends words of encouragement to a jogging woman, and compliments a man's outfit. It also displays music notes to a young woman and a heart with an arrow through it to an older couple. That's lovely, but would everyone send such positive messages? Or would misinterpreted messages fuel road rage? I also wonder if the technology would distract drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists in crowded urban areas. Of course, it would also be tempting for car owners and aftermarket companies to hack headlight messages to show missives Mercedes never intended. But all these concerns may be for naught since the Mercedes Digital Light system is just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting (think about those cool eye-lid LED daytime running lights most automakers have copied), has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art headlights to the US. Its matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on US roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the US either. Why? Because it doesn't adhere to archaic Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) that require all vehicles to have headlights capable of only switching from high to low beams; the two can't blend together, which also rules out Mercedes' Digital Light tech. So until the feds change their views on headlight regulation and the Mercedes-Maybach Digital Light system trickles down to much lower-price vehicles, you'll have to keep using your horn and hand gestures to get your message across.