Hardware-in-the-Loop-Simulation of the light distribution of automotive Matrix-LED-Headlights

This contribution proposes a novel Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL)-simulation of the light distribution of matrix-headlights to reduce the duration and number of real night test drives. After calibration machine vision cameras measure and digitize the light distribution of the real matrix-headlight in the lab. The calibration process compares the light distribution measured by the camera with the absolute intensity-data from a goniophotometer. Minimizing the error determines the optimal transformation parameters. A virtual testing simulation visualizes the digitized light distribution under consideration of the actual driving dynamics. The HiL-simulation generates the control data for the real headlight. The evaluation of the approach uses a real matrix-headlight with 84 pixels and its measured intensity distribution as the reference. The system is real-time capable and the light distribution in the simulation matches the original headlight in intensity and color.