When you drive in the dark, every
little help to navigate in the black surrounding is most appreciated.
Obviously, headlights are your prime tool. However, when you take a turn, even
without any obstructions, in the dark you have no idea where you're driving
to. This is from a simple reason that the headlights light in front of the
car, whereas you're looking sideways, to where you are going to be.
Research of rodents can shed light on
this kind of problem. It was shown that rats, who use their whiskers (their
long facial hairs) to feel their surrounding in the dark, actually sweep the
whiskers in the direction they are going to be, and not only where they
are at. When they start to move their heads to the left, the left whiskers
spread more and whisk more in anticipation of detection of obstacles for where their head is going to be.
Why not learn from rats' whiskers to cars'
headlights? I suggest that when you either use your signal lights, or start
to turn the steering wheel, a mechanism will shift the headlights to where you
are going to be, and not just in front of the car. This way, the driver will be
able to see what's coming ahead and not just bump into it. Hopefully, this kind
of contraption can also save lives in the dark.
