Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have been working on the smart headlights since 2012. They work by turning off tiny portions of the beam that correspond to the falling water, meaning it does not reflect off the droplets and reduce visibility.

Normally drivers often have to drive with dimmed beams in heavy rain or snow so they can see, but the new headlights allow them to use high beam to illuminate the road ahead. Early prototypes of the headlights were so large they needed to be mounted on a special transparent box on top of the car’s bonnet, making them impractical for use in the real world. But the new device is small enough that it could be fitted to a standard vehicle for the first time.