Working in conjunction with a leading specialist in high-intensity lighting, Long Beach-based Nectar Design has perfected an advanced lighting structure that eliminates the problem of flicker in high-speed video recording used for automotive crash tests. This leading edge system features high intensity lights with computerized controls and a new complex reflector structure system that evens out light distribution, removing a previously significant gap in the use of crash tests, a crucial aspect of designing safer automobiles. The system, designed with a firm that prefers not to be named, is being hailed as a significant improvement in crash testing, a crucial element in the ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and save countless lives and where complete visibility is absolutely essential.
With high definition and high-speed digital video reaching a truly remarkable level of advancement in recent years, the lighting used to illuminate crash tests must be strong and consistent enough to match that level of quality, and ensure that each frame is equally visible. Specifically, the split second flickers - far too brief for the naked eye to see -- that are standard in ordinary motion picture photography become problematic when it comes to viewing isolated high-speed digital shots in crash tests, making it difficult for automotive safety experts to fully and correctly judge visual test results. Nectar's role in the engineering and design of this high intensity lighting system includes an overhead reflector system with adjustable reflector panels as well as vertically adjustable light mount structures, both motorized, that utilize flicker-free lighting so that vehicular safety experts have the benefit of complete visibility for all high-speed frames.
Earlier versions of this proprietary high-intensity lighting system were first developed for use in the entertainment industry, specifically for some of the best known slow-motion effects shots from the Wachowski Brothers groundbreaking movie blockbuster, The Matrix. For this most recent refinement of their high-intensity lighting technology, the manufacturers relied upon Nectar for such crucial aspects of the project as the design of motorized actuation and control systems, structural analysis for load capacity and safety, optimizing heat transfer issues for lighting fixtures, sheet metal frames for weldments, as well as aesthetic improvements. To store power supplies for the device, Nectar has also designed a shelving and cabling system inside a standard cargo container. The container houses more than two hundred and fifty automotive batteries, which can be shipped and used on-site at a crash test facility. Including procurement and fabrication, Nectar's involvement in completing the project was completed within ninety days prior to shipping the project for use by automobile manufacturers.
"Because of the precision and short time frame we had to complete the project, providing support for this revolutionary system has been one of the most demanding tasks we've taken on recently at Nectar," said Le Bui, Nectar's Director of Business Development and Engineering Services. "However, it's also been one of our most rewarding and exciting projects as well. First of all, we love a challenge, but, even more so, as Southern Californians, we all spend more than a little time in traffic and driving, it's entirely possible that the lives we're helping to save may be our own, as well as our families, friends, and neighbors. That's obviously a big responsibility and something we all feel quite strongly about."