I drove the Rivian R1S a few weeks ago from LA to Las Vegas, and though I’ll write a more complete review later, today I need to talk about its “Adaptive Drive Beam,” which has only recently become legal in the U.S. Because it is truly mind-blowing.
The car I drove was a 2025 Rivian R1S, meaning it’s the “Gen II” of Rivian’s SUV. It launched with some seriously impressive headlights, but their functions were initially limited, as Rivian notes:
New headlights and taillights are designed with the safety of everyone on the road in mind. These headlights feature Adaptive Drive Beam technology which will be enabled later this year, helping drivers stay more aware while driving on dark roads by adapting dynamically to oncoming traffic.
These types of headlights, offered by other manufacturers like BMW and Jaguar but really popularized by Audi as the company’s “Matrix-design LED headlights,” work by cutting power to certain LED elements based on what lies ahead. As an oncoming driver approaches, instead of just shutting off the high beams, this Matrix technology just removes “pixels” of light so as not to blind the oncoming driver, thus allowing for excellent visibility ahead. Audi has a great explanation here:
That video above, by the way, is eight years old, and in it, Audi says it hopes to someday bring this tech to the U.S. Now it’s 2024, and Audi still doesn’t have this technology on U.S. roads. Motor1 has a good breakdown of why that is in its July, 2023 article “Here’s Why The Audi Q6 E-Tron’s Active Headlights Won’t Be Offered In The US.” From that piece:
“The US had a specific regulation that only allowed for a high or a low beam, but nothing in between,” Audi said in a statement. “A new regulation was passed that allowed for adaptive beam lighting. However, the ruling also established differing requirements in terms of testing and certification than the globally accepted and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) informed solution. This is the solution we have offered outside of the US since 2012.”
So even though, since early 2022, automakers could have an “adaptive driving beam,” it looks like the technology out there doesn’t mean the newly revised FMVSS 108 headlight requirements. Hence the delay. I, frustratingly, own a BMW with Adaptive LED headlights that have had to be disabled for the U.S. market. Audi is planning to bring its tech here soon, and Rivian, somehow, managed to get it to market first, even ahead of the Ingolstadt-based automaker. Check it out:
The headlights are wild. They don’t just remove “pixels” to avoid blinding oncoming drivers, they appear to be constantly adjusting to signage and even terrain. I’m not entirely sure what the algorithm involves (i.e. what triggers headlight adjustments other than oncoming traffic/vehicle speed/steering angle), but I can tell you: The lights do a lot of adjusting, pretty much constantly.
During my Vegas trip, I drove from flat terrain through a canyon with steep grades on each side, and the headlight shape changed markedly as I entered that gorge. It’s a little more animated than some folks might want, but I think it’s fun, and in the end, forward visibility is excellent.