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" What, you say, are LEDs already pass\u00E9? Just as LED headlights are becoming commonplace, BMW has announced it is developing laser headlights that it hopes will appear on production cars within a few years. BMW says laser light technology is the next logical step after LED as it is more efficient. Laser lighting can produce a near-parallel beam with intensity a thousand times greater than that of conventional LEDs. The laser diodes are one hundred times smaller even than the small, square-shaped cells used in conventional LED lighting, which have a side length of one millimeter. This opens up all sorts of new possibilities and even entirely new functions when integrating the light source into a car. The high inherent efficiency of lasers means laser headlights will use less than half the energy consumption of LED headlights, hence saving fuel. Or, giving an electric car greater range. In case you&amp;#039;re wondering, unlike those laser pointers, you won&amp;#039;t go blind looking at these laser headlights. BMW engineers say the intensity of laser lighting will not pose risks to humans, animals or wildlife as the light will not be emitted directly but first &amp;quot;converted into a form suitable for use in traffic&amp;quot;. BMW engineers say they have no plans to radically reduce the size of the headlights although that would be possible. Instead, they think laser headlights would retain their conventional surface area dimensions. However, the size advantages could be used to reduce the depth of the headlight unit, allowing new possibilities for headlight positioning and body styling. BMW&amp;#039;s laser lighting will get its first airing on the BMW i8 Concept that will be unveiled next week at the Frankfurt Auto Show and then displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Related posts:  Video: BMW i8 Plug-in Hybrid Sports Coupe BMW i3 Concept \u2013 Ready to Take on the Nissan Leaf First Look: BMW i3 Concept and BMW i8 Hybrid Concept  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-technology/news/a3126/bmw-developing-laser-headlights-26086/>