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For car owners, lighting is not a priority, so how can we bring this to the fore? This was a question raised at the Intelligent Automotive Lighting conference, held on September 27-28, 2006 in Frankfurt, Germany.
One answer is to emphasize the beneficial safety aspects of high-quality lighting. Also, it is possible to add further control at relatively little cost by developing intelligent electronics.
European regulations
LEDs are not yet an approved light source for headlights in European directives governing the automotive industry. However, LED headlights could appear as early as 2007 if car manufacturers apply for an exemption to the regulations, said Wolfgang Schneider, DG Enterprise and Industry F/1, European Commission (EC).
"Manufacturers can request an exemption if they have a technology that is good enough but not in the regulations, and provides at least an equivalent level of safety," he said. "At least one manufacturer has applied for approval, and this could be granted by early 2007."
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To read the rest of this article, please return to the index page and download the PDF file of the December 2006 issue. |
