New video game demos high-res headlights

A new technology will make night driving more comfortable and benefit pedestrians is being demonstrated in a video game.

Ford engineers are trialling the technology, which uses a vehicle’s headlights to project directions, speed limits or weather information onto the road. This way, the driver’s gaze can remain fixed on the way ahead.

To show the potential of the high-resolution headlights, they’ve also developed a new video game – called Ford Oval Uncover – designed to be played by projecting onto a wall.       

In the game, a target moves across the projected screen. The player uses buttons on the steering wheel to move the target into position and fires at the screen. Each of the hits reveals a section of the Ford oval logo underneath. The more accurate the hits, the more the oval is revealed and the more points the player scores.

The inspiration for game-projecting headlights came when a Ford engineer was behind a commercial vehicle in traffic, with the flat rear end presenting itself as an ideal screen to beam a video game onto.

Projecting information onto the road using high-resolution headlights could not only benefit drivers but other road users too. For example, a crosswalk could be projected onto the road, both for the view of the driver and the pedestrian, in situations where the existing road markings are faded or unclear. Other possibilities include showing a path for the driver to follow to ensure cyclists are passed at a safe distance.