This is a fascinating concept for actively controlling headlights to minimize the reflections from falling rain.

Inclement weather at night is one of the most difficult and stressful driving conditions imaginable. In addition to reduced traction, drivers have to deal with little or no visibility. 

The demonstration appears to work very effectively although given my own past experience with engineering demonstrations getting something to work in the lab under controlled conditions is very different from doing it in the real world. In the lab the water drops are falling straight down and are unaffected by wind blowing sideways and vehicle speed. There also isn't any spray coming back at your from the vehicles ahead. 

Snow is another huge variable since the size of the flakes and their speed can vary even more dramatically then water. I certainly hope the CMU researchers are successful since it make driving much safer. However, I'm not holding my breath. 

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Carnegie Mellon researchers develop 'smart headlight' prototype
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon are working on a prototype "smart headlight" that avoids shining light on raindrops and snowflakes to reduce distraction for the driver. It works using a Viewsonic…

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