A.
ADB and NGHB function and service Simulation
B. Michel SURUGUE, Whilk GONCALVES, Vincent HONNET
1: PSA, Route de Gisy 78 140 Vélizy - Villacoublay Cedex
Abstract: Nowadays, intelligent illumination camera
driven systems represent the state of art for head
lighting, as the NGHB – non glaring high beam,
implemented by different technological solutions as
the ADB – adaptive driving beam, the matrix beam,
pixel lighting. Other functions as the “Marking Light”
are also camera driven.
During the development of such functions the car
maker and the supplier must tune the proper
transitions, dynamical and static behaviors,
transients, etc., to optimize the full system. Those
adjustments, made up with prototypes, are typically
very time consuming. For functions as the matrix
beam, the choice of the number and width of
segments can even require many prototypes and
drivers.
We have developed a new strategy for implementing
in a driving simulator a camera model and algorithms
to allow the tuning of such complex lighting
functions. The meta states or partial positions of the
illumination devices are stored as input data.
Moreover, the optimization loops and setup can be
transferred to the real illumination device drivers and
controllers.
Concrete examples will be presented to demonstrate
some of the optimization and model strategies.
Keywords: Simulation, Adaptive Driving Beam, Non
– Glaring high beam, lighting function optimization
1. Introduction
This paper describes why and how the simulation of
complex lighting function as Adaptive Driving Beam
(ADB) is interesting and possible. The standard and
well known lighting simulation techniques are applied
to functions like the low beam, high beam, and
dynamic driving beam.. The high level of correlation
between simulations and real prototypes has
drastically reduced the number of mockups. During
the development of complex camera driven function
as the Non – Glaring High Beam (NGHB), it is also
very interesting to dispose of such simulation tools.
Usually, the development of such function requires a
lot of optimization cycles and mockups for optimizing
the light distribution as well the different transitions
and dynamical behaviors.
2. Paper format
We present how we can simulate ADB and NGHB PSA
functions, in order to optimize solutions before running
tests on open road with the demo car.
The ADB is a light distribution that is adapted
automatically, independently of any driver action. The
information from the external world, the detection device to
be modeled is the camera. The camera gets images at
given frame rate in front of the car, and the image
processing algorithm detect the incoming and leading
target vehicles in the scene. The software in an ECU used
to control the headlamp range adjustment. The best
lighting solution is selected according to the headlamp
state, dependent also on the traffic.
The NGHB PSA system is a full service function which
combines ADB propositions function from the lighting
supplier with all speeds of the car and all situations witch
can be detected by the camera. This NGHB PSA function
can adapt itself at different technical solutions of lighting
devices. Independently of the type of lighting device, the
NGHB PSA lighting function service creates one or several
dark zones (or ‘tunnels’) around one or many detected
targets. For our simulation we play with only one dark
zone. We define an organic lighting device too.
For example, the NGHB PSA takes into account the
preceding car. However, as soon as the main car comes
closer to the preceding car, the higher the light contrast
between the road illuminated by the main car headlamps
(NGHB) and the road area illuminated by the preceding
car itself. In other words, it’s very common that the
preceding car is “trapped” in a dark zone (sometimes deep
dark) created by the main car, especially when the
performance of the headlamps of the preceding car is
poorer than the main car illumination (a very common
situation).
This is a critical situation that must be managed (Fig. 1).
Figure 1 - Top view from the road, showing a single car
followed by a car with the NGHB function. [10] the main
NGHB car, [11] the road, [30] preceding or target car, [SB]
Selective Beam, [SBD] Right Selective Beam, [SBG] Left
Selective Beam, [LB] Low Beam, [30S] Tunnel dark zone
Our proposal is to reduce the possible negative effects of
this kind of illumination especially on the target vehicle
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driver. The procedure minimizes some phenomena linked
to stress, anxiety, and improper behavior of the target car
driver that commonly lead to car accidents. In our solution,
the driver is placed into a safe and standard context, with
a better adapted illuminated environment.
The optimization method is the adaptation (reduction) of
the main car NGHB range according to its distance to the
preceding car or target. The reduced range allows the
target car to remain as long as possible immersed in a
adapted and non-disturbing surrounding lighting.
The transition from the state “full tunnel position” to the
state minimum tunnel position is thus progressive. To
achieve such progressiveness, the headlamps light flux
must be controllable, as well as the range. The command
laws so derived allow the adaptation of the lighting system
to fit a given customer service setup. Figures from 2 to 4
illustrate this adaptation in different conditions.
Figure 2 - Complete selective beam adapted to a far
target. In comparison to figure 1, the full NGHB range is
slightly reduced.
Figure 3 – Intermediate case, showing the selective beam
at medium distance, when both vehicles are either
approaching or getting apart.
Figure 4 – Situation when both cars are too close and the
selective beam cannot be used. In this case, the low beam
position is mandatory.
Usually, when the car goes out of a town, in fact out of an
artificial illuminate zone, and if there is no target in front of
the host car a simple lighting function switch from LB state
to HB state. The adaptation of the transition can be
appreciable for the night vision. The transition from LB
state to HB state is thus progressive with several level of
HB.
The town incoming can be possible with the invers
transition (from HB to LB if no target).
NGHB night run can give to the driver a lot of lighting
movements on the road. Depending to the lighting device,
those movements can be stabilizing if we limit the angle
boundary lift and right. The compensation will be made
with a management of the flux allowing to control carried.
On the road, it is not uncommon to find situation with
several incoming cars. The ADB can switch from the
selective beam left (SBL in Fig 1) to LB left state at each
time that an incoming car is cross in a short time. For a
good lighting stability, when the first incoming is crossing
the function stay in LB at the left side while waiting for the
last incoming car crossing.
To define its NGHB PSA function, the customer service
spent a lot of time to define it, to realize prototype and
night tests. All adjustments are very time consuming. Our
main interest was to define the proper algorithms to model
and simulated that kind of light distribution.
Our models were built using Octal Scaner Studio
simulator, already used for our lighting simulations.
We have performed the following steps:
- Realize a model of camera allowing to reproduce
a perfect camera. We have also used a new
Octal device – a “Laser Sensor” to obtain
realistic camera model.
- Organic ADB module by a library of slides with its
lighting mapping. That is a critical step, where a
huge number of intermediate staes of the lighting
device must be simulated in order to create a
discrete approximation of the real device (in our
case, around 150 slides).
- Optimization of the number of slides, in order to
find the best compromise to have an acceptable
and precise simulation by discrete states, and not
slowing down the simulation software.
- Define driving scenarios ;
o Single driving situations software models
;
- Define the configuration software and hardware
allowing this simulation ;
o Check of the hardware and specially the
memory size ;
o Check of the speed CPU ;
- Define a software architecture allowing a flexibility
of use ;
o Modular architecture by block allowing to
define Input / Output giving flexibility to
the system to be able to exchange some
blocks during the studies. For example
possibility to exchange the block of slide
or the block of NGHB customer services,
etc . . .
All these requirements provide a very good result. We can
simulate now the NGHB PSA service function in our
simulation facilities. The dynamic of couple of Soft and
hardware is good on the screen. The simulation movie is
fluid, realist and without cutoff.
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4. Conclusion
The NGHB PSA service function was fully developped.
The hardware, the architecture software and the software
itself give very good results. The first camare models are
acceptable and can be improved for better performances.
The simulation movie is fluid and realistic. We can test part
or all the function with it, and optimize the project
development times, reducing the night driver test. We can
test new configuration of NGHB PSA service function
without new prototypes (lighting headlamp for example).
The flexible architecture provides us the possibility to use
several type of headlamp like single tunnel, matrix beam
and so on. The input data is the discretized library of
states of the moduled to be tested or optimized. The final
test step are done with a demo car for validating the
simulation.

5. Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the work and partnership
of VALEO and OCTAL. Special thanks to Mme Carnen
USON and M. Sidi BA, from VALEO.

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