Automatic Dynamic Headlamp Leveling utilizing Camera-based Vehicle Pitch Detection

The optimal setting of the low beam's viewing range, which is mostly influenced by the angle of the vertical cut-off line, plays a crucial role in ensuring safe and comfortable driving at night. However, despite the initial headlamp aiming process in the factory or workshop, the actual vehicle's pitch angle in operation, and consequently its light output angle, is subject to constant changes due to loading, propulsion dynamics or road excitation. Their compensation is referred to as "Headlamp Leveling''. The European Union mandates the compensation of load-induced changes to a vehicle's pitch angle, highlighting the importance of accurate headlamp leveling. Ford has developed and, in 2024, introduced an innovative camera-based automatic dynamic leveling system which uses the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) camera to observe the environment and measure the vehicle's pitch angle in real-time. By leveraging the existing ADAS camera, this system provides a contactless in-situ measurement of the body's angle over ground, eliminating the need for dedicated travel or angle transducers. This contribution provides an in-depth examination of the camera-based leveling system, outlining its operating principle and key aspects, and presents measurement results that demonstrate the high level of precision that can be attained using this approach.