Modern automotive lighting is witnessing rapid changes with the growing advances in technology aimed towards enhanced performance, aesthetic design and robust security. Headlamps and other lighting fixtures in automobiles are projected to witness extensive evolution in the near future owing to the introduction of technologies such as LED and laser lighting.
Moreover, the increased research and development of automotive LED and OLED with advances in vehicular computing have also resulted in significant changes in the interior lighting systems. In addition, manufacturers are emphasizing more on the development of functionality and safety features, as lighting has gained importance in differentiation in automotive brands and ambiance.
OLED Light Sources Trend in Automotive Market
OLED lights are rapidly gaining popularity in the automotive lighting market owing to enhanced characteristics of durability, energy efficiency, and operational life ranging in several thousand hours. This makes OLED lights virtually maintenance-free for the entire lifetime of the vehicle, making it an increasingly standard inclusion to modern automobiles.
Since OLEDs can be aligned into a compact sequence, they are ideal for decorative strip lighting for automobiles, and adaptive lighting systems, to optimize and modify performance as per the surroundings.
Interior lighting systems are gaining adaptive capabilities to minimize irritation to other drivers, while making the adaptability of the driver’s eyes to light easier, along with convenience in recognizing displays and instruments for better perception of contrast, helping drivers through the minimization of fatigue of vision.
Innovations in Automotive Lighting Center on Safety
A large number of automotive designers are focusing on improvements for enhancing safety for night time driving situations, owing to the higher incidences and severity of accidents at night. This is particularly true in countries such as those in North America and the European Union, which are affected by daylight saving hours. Towards this end manufacturers are entering into research and development collaborations to provide end users with unique lighting systems.
For example, Germany based auto components manufacturer Hella has joined hands with Volkswagen to develop their IQ Light LED headlamps, for vehicle designs such as luxury SUVs. These headlamps make use of more than 120 LEDs, each of which are controlled for targeted lighting, through an automated computational system that optimizes precision, luminous intensity, and light distribution. This is projected to help drivers to identify details on the road more easily, allowing better response to obstacles and potential threats.
Volkswagen has also developed extensive facilities such as lighting tunnels for the testing of lighting systems in a real road simulation, with superior repeatability and reproduction, and also enables research into the working of light perception by humans. Such facilities reduce the time for the development and implementation of new lighting systems into production technologies.
Lighting Systems Evolve to Meet Autonomous Driving Needs
Futuristic lighting systems are projected to aim towards efficient communications. With the growing interest in autonomous driving, lighting systems will become more dynamic, interacting with the driver in addition to the other road users and pedestrians, to improve on safety. As drivers, lose control over automotive function, the vehicles are expected to communicate directly with pedestrians through standardized light signals that will streamline the flow of pedestrian and traffic movement.
In addition, innovations such as rear lighting systems for alerting pedestrians when a vehicle is reversing, even when visibility is obstructed by factors such as foliage or fencing. Similar systems will also allow the projection of warning lights for dense traffic or for weather conditions with poor visibility, significantly reducing the risk of life-threatening accidents.
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