Audi’s New Headlights Can Project Video Games

[Tsing]

Audi has shared an article detailing the new Digital Matrix LED headlight technology featured in the automaker's Audi A6 e-tron concept vehicle, and it includes an interesting perk for gamers.

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[Burticus]

I don't really know what to think about any of that. Just.....why.....

 

[Grimlakin]

I don't really know what to think about any of that. Just.....why.....

It has go do with not blinding other traffic. Since you can shape your beam of light to intelligently exclude oncoming traffic you remove the danger of running high beam headlights. Something not in the US yet but has been in Europe for some time.

 

[DrezKill]

What in the actual f*ckety f*ck.

It has go do with not blinding other traffic. Since you can shape your beam of light to intelligently exclude oncoming traffic you remove the danger of running high beam headlights.

Oh huh, interesting. But using headlights as a game projector, yeah I have no idea who has a need for something like that.

 

[Grimlakin]

What in the actual f*ckety f*ck.


Oh huh, interesting. But using headlights as a game projector, yeah I have no idea who has a need for something like that.

Pretty sure that's just a.. "Neat look what we can do" thing.

 

[Stoly]

First thing to came to mind

Arcade Sega DAAAAAAYTONAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

 

[Zarathustra]

Why though?

This is really starting to move into the solidly "stupid" category.

Some idiot hit my 2017 Volvo S90 while it was parked back in October. It has the hardware for adaptive headlights (but the software was never enabled as it wasn't DOT approved at the time it was sold).

Mostly minor damage, but a plastic mount point for one of the headlights cracked.

The replacement headlight assembly was $3,000. For just one headlight assembly.

(not to mention it was back-ordered for months due to the chip supply issue)

I guess my point is, these things are stupidly expensive already as it is. This stupidity needs to stop. We need to back off and start making cars simpler again. My 23 year old Volvo wagon is just fine. It doesn't have any of the superfluous nonsense.

A car should be a mode of transportation. Exclude everything that doesn't directly support this goal.

 

[Brian_B]

Why though?

My guess is that the hardware had the capability, it just took a bit of polish on whatever software allows it to accept remote video devices. It's already just an output projector, using the car's camera to figure out how to adapt the headlight display in real time. All they needed was the bridge to accept an external input...

It doesn't serve any useful function, but it generates buzz, and they can charge extra for the Wow factor. And all it cost them was some engineer allowing official access to a function that they had developed anyway to use internally for testing and development.

 

[Ditchinit]

Waiting for the target cross-hair hack ...

 

[DrezKill]

Mostly minor damage, but a plastic mount point for one of the headlights cracked.

The replacement headlight assembly was $3,000. For just one headlight assembly.

(not to mention it was back-ordered for months due to the chip supply issue)

GAWD DAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN

 

[Riccochet]

Why though?

This is really starting to move into the solidly "stupid" category.

Some idiot hit my 2017 Volvo S90 while it was parked back in October. It has the hardware for adaptive headlights (but the software was never enabled as it wasn't DOT approved at the time it was sold).

Mostly minor damage, but a plastic mount point for one of the headlights cracked.

The replacement headlight assembly was $3,000. For just one headlight assembly.

(not to mention it was back-ordered for months due to the chip supply issue)

I guess my point is, these things are stupidly expensive already as it is. This stupidity needs to stop. We need to back off and start making cars simpler again. My 23 year old Volvo wagon is just fine. It doesn't have any of the superfluous nonsense.

A car should be a mode of transportation. Exclude everything that doesn't directly support this goal.

Sooo...why are you driving a Volvo then? Why aren't you driving some stripped down econobox p.o.s. with power nothing, no radio, no A/C. None of those features support getting you from one place to another. 4 wheels, and engine and a seat. That's all you need. Right?

 

[Zarathustra]

Sooo...why are you driving a Volvo then? Why aren't you driving some stripped down econobox p.o.s. with power nothing, no radio, no A/C. None of those features support getting you from one place to another. 4 wheels, and engine and a seat. That's all you need. Right?

Volvo used to be a no-nonsense basic brand.

I grew up in Volvo's. None of them had air conditioning. None of them had power anything. Window hand cranks, manual seats, you name it.

Honestly, the whole concept of a Volvo being a "luxury" car is insane. It flies in the face of the brand heritage.

With volvo you never had luxury features. They were more expensive because you were buying an over-engineered product that was going to last, not because you were expecting a decked out Mercedes S class.

I've struggled with this question myself.

I bought my Volvo simply because I don't know what else to buy. I'm not really fond of any modern cars. They have all gone "stupid".

 

[Grimlakin]

Volvo used to be a no-nonsense basic brand.

I grew up in Volvo's. None of them had air conditioning. None of them had power anything. Window hand cranks, manual seats, you name it.

Honestly, the whole concept of a Volvo being a "luxury" car is insane. It flies in the face of the brand heritage.

With volvo you never had luxury features. They were more expensive because you were buying an over-engineered product that was going to last, not because you were expecting a decked out Mercedes S class.

I've struggled with this question myself.

I bought my Volvo simply because I don't know what else to buy. I'm not really fond of any modern cars. They have all gone "stupid".

Why not buy a used Volvo then?

 

[Riccochet]

Volvo used to be a no-nonsense basic brand.

I grew up in Volvo's. None of them had air conditioning. None of them had power anything. Window hand cranks, manual seats, you name it.

Honestly, the whole concept of a Volvo being a "luxury" car is insane. It flies in the face of the brand heritage.

With volvo you never had luxury features. They were more expensive because you were buying an over-engineered product that was going to last, not because you were expecting a decked out Mercedes S class.

I've struggled with this question myself.

I bought my Volvo simply because I don't know what else to buy. I'm not really fond of any modern cars. They have all gone "stupid".

Volvo hasn't been no nonsense since the 70's. Even in the early 80's they had the 740 Turbo which was a rather luxury and performance oriented car for the time.

 

[Zarathustra]

Volvo hasn't been no nonsense since the 70's. Even in the early 80's they had the 740 Turbo which was a rather luxury and performance oriented car for the time.

Even my 2000 V70 is relatively utilitarian. It does have air conditioning and power windows, but everything else is pretty basic.

Cloth seats, AM/FM/Tape head unit, you name it.

It doesn't even have a sun roof

 

[Brian_B]

I bought my Volvo simply because I don't know what else to buy. I'm not really fond of any modern cars. They have all gone "stupid".

They pivoted toward the american market. Volvo may still be a no-nonsense brand in Europe, but the ones they sell across the pond aren't going to be.

Americans don't want over engineered. They tend to fall into two categories -- we want as much creature comfort and bling as we can afford. And if we can't afford it, then give us the cheapest piece of **** that we will consider disposable, because our aim is to get to that lux car some day.

You don't pay extra for quality in America - just convenience, comfort, and style.

Volvo knows that. So they dress up their cars so they can continue to get that high margin, rather than strip it down and turn it into the next Yugo.

 

[Brian_B]

Even my 2000 V70 is relatively utilitarian.

Yeah but you could have got the V40... And while you didn't spring for the CD player, you do have a lot of extra air bags, a VVT engine, and some Whiplash thingy and a few other perks, and there were AWD options, a turbo option, and a performance 5 cylinder available for the V70. For a 2000-era car the V70 isn't too shabby.

I had an '03 SportTrak, and it's "luxury" options where on-the-fly 4WD, rubberized hose-down interior, and a hard plastic tonneau cover. We didn't have touch screen Android everything at the time (thank god), so car makers used other-than-iPad tactics to differentiate.

 

[Zarathustra]

They pivoted toward the american market. Volvo may still be a no-nonsense brand in Europe, but the ones they sell across the pond aren't going to be.

Americans don't want over engineered. They tend to fall into two categories -- we want as much creature comfort and bling as we can afford. And if we can't afford it, then give us the cheapest piece of **** that we will consider disposable, because our aim is to get to that lux car some day.

You don't pay extra for quality in America - just convenience, comfort, and style.

Volvo knows that. So they dress up their cars so they can continue to get that high margin, rather than strip it down and turn it into the next Yugo.

It's funny.

This is Pehr Gyllenhammar, CEO of Volvo from 1971 to 1993.



He is reported to have said that over his dead body would Volvo ever become a luxury brand.

I guess that all went out the window after his departure.

 

[Zarathustra]

Yeah but you could have got the V40...

the V40 was smaller, but more importantly, they cut many corners on the 40 series resulting in many fewer of them still being on the roads. One big corner that was cut which is probably responsible for more dead 40 series Volvo's than any other design decision was to not equip them with a coolant level sensor.

Tiny savings resulted in catastrophic failures.

No doubt shortsightedness in trying to make the balance sheets look better in preparation for selling off the car division (eventually to Ford) in the mid to late 90's.

Luckily the 70 series didn't get the same treatment. At least not to the same extent. There were lots of cost savings when the 850 was turned into the S/V70 as well. Notably all the **** trim used to be attached with solid screws, but this was replaced with clips in the S/V70's which separate and break over time. At least the mechanicals were kept solid.

 

[Brian_B]

One big corner that was cut which is probably responsible for more dead 40 series Volvo's than any other design decision was to not equip them with a coolant level sensor.

You know, I don't think any of the cars I've owned have coolant level sensors. They all have had coolant temperature sensors though - which I admit doesn't work exactly the same way, as I can think of some ways that an engine could destroy itself where a coolant temp sensor wouldn't indicate anything is wrong (if it were run dry, for example - but you'd have to almost try to get an engine in that state).