HD Matrix Headlamp: Car Lighting Technology at the Highest Level

Hella, the automotive supplier operating under the umbrella brand FORVIA, and the luxury car manufacturer Porsche, have, in close cooperation with other partners, launched the world’s first high-resolution headlamp based on matrix LED technology.

With over 32,000 individually controllable pixels per headlamp, it raises automotive lighting technology to a new level. The digital headlamp system SSL | HD is now available for the first time in the new Porsche Cayenne as optional extra equipment.

Hella’s SSL | HD technology, which received the prestigious CES 2023 Innovation Award at the end of last year, is an evolutionary further development and significant miniaturisation of matrix LED systems. Compared to conventional headlamps, the space required for the light module has been reduced by up to 75 percent.

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In the new Porsche Cayenne, two high-resolution LED chips, not even the size of a fingernail, generate over 32,000 pixels per headlamp. The pixels are controlled by one electronic control unit for each headlamp, which HELLA also developed as a system supplier. In this context, so-called GMSL interfaces are used for the first time due to the high data volumes.

In order to control two light sources per headlamp with one control unit, Hella has also developed new algorithms that allow the light distribution to be calculated in real time.

On this basis, the high-resolution headlamp system realises not only further improvements to already established functions such as adaptive, glare-free high beam, but also the most sophisticated new lighting functionalities. For example, on the motorway or at narrow construction sites, the optimal lane can be projected dynamically onto the road to provide the driver with additional support in safe vehicle guidance.

The headlamps for the Porsche Cayenne are developed and produced at the Company headquarters in Lippstadt (Germany). Series production of the SSL | HD module takes place on almost fully automated production lines.