Skip to main content

Mercedes debuts Digital Light, an advanced head lamp system

Mercedes- Benz Image used with permission by copyright holder

You don’t have to be able to see in the dark if your car can do it for you. And with the new headlamp technology from Mercedes-Maybach, cars may soon be able to do just that. Meet Digital Light, which promises a “virtually dazzle-free main beam in HD quality and a resolution of more than two million pixels.” The feature will soon go into small series production in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class vehicles.

Making its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, Digital Light is no ordinary lamp. Rather, this technology promises to facilitate driving assistance and communication with its driver, and most importantly, seeks to create the perfect lighting conditions regardless of driving scenario. But your safety won’t come at the expense of others — unlike other high-definition light beams, which can blind oncoming drivers, Digital Light claims to minimize the risk of dazzling other roadsters.

Recommended Videos

”With a resolution of over one million pixels per headlamp, Digital Light not only creates ideal light conditions for every driving situation; it also extends the visual support from our driving assistance systems,” said Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, and responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Key to the HD-quality headlamp is a chip that boasts more than a million micro-reflectors. That means that a vehicle outfitted with this technology has no fewer than two million of these micro-reflectors total. Select cars will also have cameras and sensor systems to detect oncoming traffic, as well as computers to analyze the data and send the headlamp the appropriate command for an ideal lighting situation. That means that you’re not just toggling between high and low beams, but rather allowing your car to “see” on your behalf, even in the dead of night.

Digital Light also offers a number of other unique functions, like Guide Lines, which will project two two trails of light corresponding to the width of the car when driving through a construction site, or any other scenario that is difficult to navigate. Or there’s the Extended Pedestrian Mark, in which Digital Light points an arrow toward any pedestrian who is detected in the so-called danger zone near the road.

Vehicles equipped with Digital Light are further able to warn drivers about risky driving situations and can provide relevant information — for example, if a car is swerving between lanes or potentially heading toward oncoming traffic.

Customers will be able to check out the first Digital Light vehicles in the first half of the year. 

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Bose wants to dominate car audio, and I heard its next-gen 3D automotive speakers
Bose logo on a speaker grille

Bose’s automotive audio business is huge, and it’s set to get even bigger. The company has been making big plays in car audio for some time now. The audio company works with premium brands like Porsche, building high-end speakers that allow drivers to experience high-quality audio on the road, whether they’re carting the family around in an Escalade or weaving around the highway (don’t do that) in a Porsche Macan.

But while it has a solid selection of audio brands under its belt, the world of personal audio is also evolving. Mercedes-Benz showed off its Dolby Atmos system at CES last year, and now, a year later, plenty of other brands are joining the trend. At CES 2025, Bose walked me through its current lineup of automotive audio products, as well as a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Immersive audio
The big trend in all areas of personal audio right now essentially boils down to supporting 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos. Consumer home theater products are increasingly offering up-firing and side-firing speakers that can bounce audio around the room to simulate height and surround effects, while headphone brands are increasingly developing spatialized audio tech that can convert stereo audio into simulated spatial audio.

Read more
You Asked: What’s the most impressive thing you saw at CES?
You Asked CES Editors Cut

On today’s special edition of You Asked, we tracked down each of our editors and put them on the spot to find out what they thought was the most impressive thing they saw at CES 2025 in Early January. Let’s find out what they had to say.
Panasonic Z95B

There’s been some really cool TV tech at CES, but the thing I’m most excited about is the new Panasonic Z95B. Instead of the regular OLED display structure we’ve seen in recent years with MLA technology, this uses a four-layer panel structure. It features individual red, green, and blue layers (two of the latter) for the emissive light.

Read more
Volvo CTO Anders Bell chats its new do-it-all tech platform and future EVs
2025 Volvo EX90 front quarter view.

Volvo is at an inflection point. The company has finally launched the new Volvo EX90 -- it's long-awaited flagship electric SUV, designed to take on other premium large SUVs like the Rivian R1S. The new vehicle offers Volvo's signature Scandinavian style, but with modern features and Google's Android Automotive software.

Beyond being its first major electric SUV release, perhaps more important is the fact that the EX90 also represents the launch of Volvo's so-called Superset platform. Essentially, Superset is the Volvo-designed tech stack that is supposed to be used on all of its upcoming electric vehicles, containing all the modules and software necessary to power a built-out next-generation lineup of EVs.

Read more