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As you wind your way through the parking garage at the Los Angeles Convention Center, you easily spot the last available parking space with the Lexus Adaptive Front lighting System (AFS) which turns the headlights to illuminate your way prior to turning the corner. The garage lights above are burnt out but you can rely on the Night View System which uses near infra-red technology to help you see objects in the darkness ahead. Then, as you prepare to move in for the targeted spot, your vehicle's Intuitive Parking Assist comes alive, using a graphic illustration of your car with warning beeps to signal the clearance between your vehicle and its tight surroundings.
Hard to imagine? Then visit Lexus' exhibit at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show and you'll be able to experience the latest technology firsthand. Four displays highlight simulations of the technological innovations offered by Lexus. The show opens to the public at the Los Angeles Convention Center January 7, and continues through January 16.
"Our exhibit encourages visitors to become fully engaged in the show by experiencing the latest in safety related and advanced technology," said Lexus Vice President of Marketing Mark Templin. "Our new technology displays feature some of the advanced systems offered by Lexus to enhance safety, comfort and convenience."
The Adaptive Front lighting System (AFS) display simulates the operation of headlights that help the driver to see further into a turn. The left beam can rotate from 0 to 15 degrees in a left turn while the right beam remains in the center position. The right beam can rotate from 0 to 5 degrees in a right turn while the left beam remains in a center position. As a result, the driver can see deeper into the curve, as simulated by the auto show display.
AFS also incorporates a self-leveling feature that levels the lights depending on road conditions. And an AFS on/off switch allows the driver to disengage the system at any time. It is currently available on the Lexus RX 330 luxury utility vehicle and LS 430 luxury sedan.
The Night View simulation features an option available on the LX 470 which uses near-infrared technology that illuminates everything in front of the vehicle out to a distance of nearly 500 feet. Two lamps in the lower grille project light beams that reflect off objects in the vehicle's path, bouncing back to a camera mounted inside the top of the windshield. A computer processes the reflected beams into natural-looking images projected onto a section of the windshield in the driver's field of vision.
The Intuitive Parking Assist simulation displays an actual front bumper fitted with ultrasonic sensors. As you approach the bumper, a pictograph appears on a plasma screen, rendering your location relative to the bumper � just as it would in miniature within the vehicle's instrument panel. The actual system also sounds a tone from the front speakers if the obstacle is in front of the vehicle or from the rear speakers if the obstacle is behind.
In addition to the AFS, Night View and Intuitive Parking Assist simulations, the exhibit will show how the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) operates. This system uses stabilizer bars that have nearly double the standard torsional stiffness, significantly reducing body roll motion that translates into more responsive handling. The front and rear stabilizer bars are supported by inter-connecting hydraulic cylinders that can shift load from one stabilizer bar to the other in response to changing driving conditions, minimizing wheel lift and loss of traction for better suspension articulation. By reducing the degree of roll stiffness in response to variable road conditions, KDSS also improves ride comfort and off-road capability. The system is currently available on the GX 470.
In addition to the technology simulations, the Lexus exhibit incorporates a lounge where customers can use computer kiosks to access www.lexus.com, experience the Lexus navigation system, see a display of the latest in Lexus
merchandise and learn about upcoming Lexus events.
All of the Lexus activities at the Los Angeles Auto Show will be webcast via streaming video on www.lexus.com. The webcast will be available 24/7 starting on Wednesday, January 5 and continuing to the end of the show on Sunday, January 16.
Credit: Lexus USA
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