Hi, I am a student doing a lighting assignment in Australia and was wanting some information for it.
I saw an article a couple of years ago in the American magazine "Car & Driver" about SAAB pioneering headlights in the UV range. The idea was that these lights had a wide spread and showed the fur of animals near the roadside but without blinding drivers (because we cant see in the ultra-violet range). Similar articles appeared in other magazines at the time. Has anyone got a copy of the article? Did the idea work? Are SAAB still working on it? Have I got the theory wrong? I can't seem to find anything on it.

Thanks in advance for any replies.
Please email me direct on : tim@brt.com.au

Tim
You are not mistaken. I have seen something similar about this, an example photo of normal headlights and one with UV that was able to pick out and highlight pedestrians on a crossing that could not be seen with normal h/l.

I have seen motorcyles with reddish/purple headlights which I have assumed to by UV?

I think I have an article in one of my magazine, perhaps Saab Scene? I'll try and dig it out for you.

If anyone else has more info I'd be interested in hearing it here, aswell as Tim.

Regards
/john

I think this was covered on TV as well on the Tomorrows World programme as this was seen as pretty futuristic at the time - looks like it still is !

on p104 of "Half a Century of Saab" by Erik Dymock, (see http://www.saabs.co.uk/tsp/books/automobiles.html

http://www.saabs.co.uk/tsp/images/saab50years.gif

it says:
The joint Prometheus (PROgraMme for European Traffic with Highest Efficiency and Unprecedented Safety) was set up by the European motor and electronic industries to develop systems and set standards for safety, in car navigation, and traffic management. When it started in 1986 such systems were rare.

...Among the projects were headlights to penetrate fog and snow throwing an invisible non-dazzling beam well beyound the reach of dipped lights.

Ultraviolet (UV) headlamps, one of Saab's research projects under the programme, could have been one of the biggest contributions to safety since reflective roads studs in the 1930s.

Dr Leif Olsson, Saab's head of product strategy found that only 10% of night driving was accomplished on main beam. Picking our road markings or obstructions beyond 75 metres, with non-dazzling UV could effectively replace main beam the rest of the time. The range of vision was twice that of normal headlights even without flourescent markings, but the infrastructure was slow to get into place and standardisation of headlights was delayed.

DIPPED BEAM HEADLAMPS:

http://www.saabs.org/ubb/images/uvbefore.jpg

DIPPED BEAM HEADLAMPS WITH UV LIGHTS:

http://www.saabs.org/ubb/images/uvafter.jpg

...and the BBC are today reporting that this "new technology" will be in cars in five years time.

Here's their report in RealVideo:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1305000/vide...montague_vi.ram (http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1305000/video/_1308169_night08_montague_vi.ram)

/john

Hi John,
In reply to your earlier comment about motorcycle headlamps, the purple light is just a coloured cover, I have one myself.
The idea is that the rider will stand out more, with less likelyhood of having a myopic driver pulling out infront of him/her.
No, it isn't legal, but yes,you get noticed. I was pulled over by a motorcycle cop and given a ticket, as he thought it was just for matching the paintwork?!!!!!

Thanks for the clarification regarding motorcycle h/l. Now I know ;-)

Cheers
/john