Mercedes MULTIBEAM LED Intelligent Light System
Outstanding light technology form part of a continuing tradition at Mercedes-Benz: over 120 years of headlamp technology stand for ongoing progress in the interests of enhanced road safety and the introduction of innovations to benefit the company’s customers and other road users.
Standard equipment for all S-Class Cabriolet models includes High Performance LED headlamps, the Intelligent Light System and Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus. Night View Assist Plus with pedestrian detection and spotlight function is available as an optional extra. The rearview mirror and the exterior mirror on the driver’s side feature an automatic dimming function as standard.
Masking out other vehicles
The added safety provided by the MULTIBEAM LED technology becomes apparent above all in real traffic situations: in contrast to static high-beam systems, some of which have long ranges, MULTIBEAM LED also supports the driver when there are other vehicles in the field illuminated by the headlamps. Because it masks these out of its light distribution specifically within a fraction of a second, it is possible to drive with main beam switched on at all times. This assures the driver of the best possible light performance at all times, without dazzling other road users. The LED technology used for the MULTIBEAM headlamps offers further advantages: by way of example, the light from the bright LED headlamps is almost the same colour as daylight and therefore in line with normal human perception patterns. Studies have shown that the closer the colour of artificial light is to daylight, the less the strain on the eyes. With a colour temperature of 5,500 kelvin, LED light is closer to daylight (6,500 K) than xenon headlamps (4,200 K). The 84 high-performance LEDs in the MULTIBEAM LED headlamps also help to increase efficiency thanks to their high lumen output/wattage and are designed to last for the entire lifetime of the vehicle.
Permanent high beam with \no dazzle: Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus
Adaptive Highbeam Assist Plus allows the high-beam headlamps to be kept on permanently while driving by masking out any other road users detected in the beams’ cone of light. If the camera-based system registers either oncoming traffic or vehicles ahead, it will adapt the light distribution according to the traffic situation when high beam is switched on. Consequently, the driver can leave the high-beam headlamps on at all times and use their full range without irritating or even endangering other road users. There is no need to switch them on and off manually, resulting in a significant increase in the overall driving time with high beam
Tomorrow’s LED Technology
Mercedes-Benz will soon be presenting MULTIBEAM LED headlamps with a gridded light source containing 84 LEDs, enabling even higher resolution of the light output. This will afford other road users even better protection from dazzling, while improving illumination of the road ahead for the driver.
As a result of the absolutely freely configurable light distribution, it is possible for the first time to implement all high- and low-beam functions of the Intelligent Light System in entirely digital mode and without any mechanical actuators. This will make a wealth of new, adaptive light functions possible which will render night-time driving yet safer for both the driver and other road users.
