Lighting technology has evolved a fair amount over the past few years and while that is a good thing since we have gotten improved visibility thanks to LEDs, the change has not come without challenges, most of them unexpected and only noticed once the technology was in everyday use.
Some of the challenges were discovered quite quickly, like the fact that the increased brightness could be dangerous for other drivers as it was prone to blind them, especially when considering the difference in heights that some models “suffer from”. Thankfully regulation fixed this problem quite quickly and technology caught up with it as well by making the light sensors more accurate and responsive to what was happening in the road.
But other challenges took a bit longer to pinpoint, like the fact that these bright, compact, and energy-efficient marvels of engineering barely generate heat. Unlike their predecessors, HID or halogen lights, LEDs run fairly cold, and this means that they are more likely to accumulate a coating of snow, ice, or moisture that can disrupt illumination. And with the adaptive technology mentioned earlier, this can be an even bigger problem as the sensors might also get fogged up or blocked and prevent proper road illumination.
This may seem like a superfluous problem to have, as in fact, nowadays most stretches of road are fairly safe, illuminated or very clearly marked and protected, but the reality is that with the technology advancements that we have seen in later years, problems such as this one can take lives if we are not careful, and any solution that can help us minimize the loss of life on the roads is a good step in the right direction.
Rivian’s solution to impaired LED lights
But never fret! Where there is a problem, there is a solution, and this time it might come from the independent car manufacturer Rivian Automotive, Inc. This American brand founded in 2009 has attempted to revolutionize the industry many times, usually to great success, but this might be their crowning moment.
Rivian filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) outlining a design for heated LED headlight lenses on June 21, 2023, and the USPTO, after careful reviewing, published it on December 26, 2024, letting the world know that this design could be well on the way to being implemented in our vehicles.
The design seems to have considered a number of real world scenarios and concerns. It is based on a layer of carbon nanotube material which is then added to the outer lens of a headlight. For those who do not know this, carbon nanotubes are well known for their superior thermal conductivity, which might be the reason behind Rivian’s choice of this material. This carbon layer would then be surrounded by a silver bus-bar heating element, which would have a small current running through it, heating up the carbon nanotube layer and melting any snow, ice, or other moisture sticking to the headlight.
This concept could be revolutionary to an industry that does not make changes easily, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is known for being weary of changes. But, they recently (in 2022) approved the use of modern matrix headlights which have been legal in Europe for a few years after nearly a decade of petitioning from automakers, which could give Rivian the chance to introduced and have the change tested and approved without having to go through the same hurdles now that the Administration seems willing to make updates.
To make this new technology a reality, Volkswagen invested $5.8 billion into the project, which also came with a conditional approval of a $6.6 billion loan from the federal government for its Georgia factory, set to open in 2028, which should make production a reality if the technology is approved.
