Now it's a 'laserrrrrrrr' for car headlights

As the Austin Powers movie villain Dr Evil might put it: “boo-friggity-hoo” for the humble headlight, which has shone a path for the automobile for more than 100 years.

German car makers Audi and BMW are fast-tracking laser technology that can double the distance drivers can see at night. Conventional high beams spread light 250 metres down the road but light from new laser technology can reach up to 500 metres, with pinpoint accuracy.

The system is 10,000 times more powerful than a laser pointer used in business presentations. But the car makers insist laser headlights will not blind drivers of on-coming cars.

The laser light goes through a phosphorous filter which creates a white beam that makes it safe for the human eye, says Carsten Gut, Audi’s lighting expert on hand at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “Our main aim was to not dazzle any drivers, laser technology is much more accurate,” said Mr Gut.

To prove its point, Audi will use laser lights on its LeMans racer this year -- and unveiled the technology on its new concept car, an experimental 700-horsepower V8 hybrid sports-coupe which the company says could be built within three years. But rival BMW will likely be first in showrooms with laser headlight technology later this year, albeit on a hybrid supercar, the mega-dollar petrol-electric i8.

Laser technology is the next step from LED headlights, which have only just become available on top-end luxury cars. The latest LED headlights will be able to blank out sections of the road ahead so they don’t dazzle approaching drivers. It’s a long way from when oil-fueled headlamps were used in the late 1800s, soon after the birth of the automobile.

Today’s electrical headlights first appeared on a Cadillac in 1912 and automotive lighting technology hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years. Xenon and LED technology has only appeared in the past decade.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling