Ford’s labs in Aachen (Germany) are working on two lighting technologies that will make night driving safer, facilitating the identification of pedestrians, cyclists and animals.

The engineers are developing the “Camera-Based Advanced Front-Lighting” (CBAFL), a system able to automatically widen dipped beams at junctions and roundabouts, thus illuminating areas that are normally excluded. The system is based on GPS data and when these latter are not available, a camera will “read” traffic signs and identify road markings in order to predict curves. The information can also be shared between Ford cars with the same technology.

In pre-development there’s instead the “Spot Lighting”, a system equipped with infrared camera - located in the front of the car - able to detect and track with a light beam the presence of potential dangers at night (persons and large animals on the road), up to 120 m. away. The beams will be issued by two independent LED lights placed next to fog lights. The people/animals’ shapes will also be shown on the infotainment screen, in green or red depending on the level of danger.

Linked to these systems, Ford is also researching on a “Smart GPS” capable of remembering previously driven routes and of anticipating dangerous spots, automatically activating the additional lighting.

There are those who are preparing for an August holiday barbecue and who is ready to debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance (California, USA - August 16, 2015), as the Icona Vulcano, super-car designed by the French Samuel Chuffart and built by the Italian Cecomp.

Inspired by the world's fastest plane - the Blackbird SR-71 -, the Vulcano (“volcano” in Italian) has a “bullet-proof” titanium and carbon fiber body that required 1000 hours of modeling and that will be shown in its full glory, without painting.

4.45 m long, 1.24 m wide 1.96 me high, with a wheelbase of 2.70 m and a weight of 1,595 kg, the prototype is almost ready for production, with a completely functional interior and hypercar performance: under the hood beats an eight cylinder engine capable of reaching an output of more than 1,000 horses, if required by the Customer. The powerful engine was developed by Claudio Lombardi and Mario Cavagnero, celebrities of Italian automotive engineering. In its actual configuration, 670 horses and 840 Nm of torque, combined with a paddle-shift close ratio gearbox signed by Automac Modena, allow the car to take from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.8 '', up to a maximum speed of 345 km/h.

Revealed for the first time at the Shanghai Motor Show in 2013, Icona Vulcano will appear at Pebble Beach among the most beautiful and rare cars in the world.

Partaker of this result is also bylogix who created the “volcanic” hued dashboard. The IPC (Instrument Panel Cluster) is based on a high resolution digital screen and is supported by the ICU (Interactive Communication Unit), a platform capable of managing human-machine interfaces in 3D graphics and to connect the device on which it’s installed (in this case the dashboard and the car), with the outside world, becoming a fundamental component for connected and autonomous car.

They don’t create any shades and need spotlights nor similar optical elements neither cooling. They are efficient and light and characterized by considerable bright flexibility, allowing the combination of components such as "security" and "style".
We are talking of OLED or organic light emitting diodes, the new technology frontier of automotive lighting that Audi and BMW are exploring first.

In January, BMW showed the M4 Concept Iconic Lights at CES 2015 in Las Vegas (International Consumer Electronics Show) and declared the launch of OLED rear lights as standard, as well as Audi, who is preparing to present a concept car featuring Matrix OLED tail lights at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The Matrix OLED system will be composed of units containing two electrodes and numerous thin layers of semi-conductor materials on which is applied an organic substance, activated by a 3-4 volts alternating current.

Unlike incandescent bulbs and LEDs, organic diodes lights aren’t point lights, but emit over their entire surface, guaranteeing illumination homogeneity and the ability to continuously change intensity and play simultaneously with different colors.

All this leaves a lot of room for designers’ creativity, who can develop bright areas covering the whole rear part of the car, create lamps able to quickly switch from one color to another, generate "lighting signatures," customize not only the back lighting, but also the front, the surface and the interior.

For connected cars and IoT lovers, OLED technology can also be used for communication between vehicles (e.g. providing information on the vehicle and on the driver’s intentions).

Rejected on large-scale use the Google Glass are employed in some US private practice and to help workers. Boeing has just started a pilot program for supporting operators in airplanes' assembly and some phone companies make their technicians employ the Google Glass for ECUs' reparation.

If in the "consumer" universe, the smart glasses didn’t have much success (much to convince Google to halt sales last January 2015), in the work one trials are going on. "In the world of work – indeed –  how to keep operators' hands free has being a fundamental topic for 20 years".

In the wake of these experiments, Google would be focusing on a new version of the Glass designed exclusively for businesses, to meet the specific needs of industries ranging from health care to energy supply, to production.

The new smart glasses have a "lens" composed of a curved rectangle with no frame, but fitted with a system to "hook" the device to different glasses. They also have a battery of longer duration (2 hours),  which a battery pack can be magnetically connected to, and an improved wireless connectivity.

Autonomous and accident-free driving and connected cars have long been hot topics for the automotive and Mercedes-Benz focuses on these aspects with the launch of the future E-Class, scheduled for next spring.

The innovations on the new model will allow the driver to: travel partially autonomously out of town (Intelligent Drive); park in difficult spots while remaining out of the car and using the smartphone – the new digital key –; get benefits from automatic braking devices (Brake Active Assist) and steering-support systems for evasive action (Evasive Steering Assist), to avoid unexpected dangerous situations and to facilitate the car management.

Furthermore, a Car-to-X communication system will create an interconnection between vehicles exploiting the mobile phone network, so allowing the driver to receive real-time information about any dangers existing in the path.

Finally, the PRE SAFE (Side and Sound) will ensure a greater protection during side impact, further safeguarding from the impact noise, and the new Multibeam LED headlights will better lighten the road without dazzling other drivers.

Already in 2013, Mercedes-Benz had demonstrated the feasibility of autonomous driving over long distances, making the experimental car S 500 INTELLIGENT DRIVE go 100 kilometers autonomously in complex traffic situations.