Vehicle equipment control with semiconductor light sensors

A system for generating a control signal for automatically controlling equipment in an automotive vehicle comprising:

• at least one semiconductor light sensor, each light sensor comprising at least one light sensing transducer receiving light from a target area over an integration period, each light sensor operative to generate a discrete light signal based on the amount of received light;
• and
• a control logic in communication with the equipment and the at least one light sensor, the control logic operative to generate the control signal based on the discrete light signal without forming an image of the target area.

A system for generating a control signal for automatically controlling equipment in an automotive vehicle comprising:

• at least one semiconductor light sensor operative to detect light within a target spatial distribution and to generate a discrete light signal based on the detected light, each light sensor comprising at least one light sensing transducer for detecting the light over an integration period;
• and
• control logic in communication with the at least one light sensor and the equipment, the control logic generating the control signal based on the discrete light signal without mapping the discrete light signal within the target spatial distribution.