The automotive industry is going through major changes. Not surprisingly, innovations like electric vehicles and autonomous driving are generating most of the buzz. However, cutting-edge lighting applications are gaining increased attention, as they illuminate the future of driving and enhance the automotive experience.
In the self-driving future, vehicle interiors will be more than simple cabins — they’ll be true living spaces in which we’ll work and play as we travel. Think about it. If you’re not required to physically drive your car, you’ll likely be engaged in other activities. Then your car is no longer just a car — it’s an office, a media room, maybe even a library. Many scenarios have already begun to emerge as refinements to solid-state lighting (SSL) are being offered to the automotive market, and autonomous vehicle concepts continue to evolve.
SSL creates a transporting experience
Of course, you’ll need the right lighting for all these use cases. Instead of a single overhead light, vehicles will need a broad distribution of lighting that adjusts to the environment and delivers the appropriate levels of brightness, color, and intensity — and these features must strike just the right balance to enhance the automotive experience rather than becoming a distraction (Fig. 1).
Indeed, LED-based lighting systems can be programmed to change their spectrum of colors and color temperature to best accommodate every passenger inside the vehicle. If LEDs are inlaid in all the vehicle’s seats and doors, you can personalize the lighting experience to accommodate the needs and requirements of multiple passengers.
Driving wellbeing in the automobile
Vehicles can leverage the principles of human-centric lighting, or lighting designed to promote human health and wellbeing, inside the cabin in various ways.
Certain LEDs are starting to deliver on this promise by automatically adjusting to the brightness and color preferences of passengers based on their moods or tasks. For example, during a morning commute, the lighting can be optimized to keep passengers awake and alert to get a jump on the day’s work. By contrast, on the way home, the vehicle can deliver more subdued lighting that promotes relaxation after a long day at the office.
LED lighting can even be tied to in-vehicle sensors that detect the vital signs and mood of passengers. If the vehicle senses that your heartbeat is elevated or other signs of stress, it can dim the lighting to help you calm down.
Another issue that interior LEDs can help address is motion sickness and overall comfort. Passengers in autonomous vehicles are often not paying attention to what is happening on the road. They’re watching movies, on Zoom calls, or otherwise immersed in their personal devices. Then, if the car suddenly brakes or swerves to avoid an object, passengers are unprepared. They don’t have time to tense their muscles or ready themselves physically for what’s coming next.
Intelligent LED lighting can minimize car sickness and increase overall comfort by providing warnings about what the vehicle is doing — or going to do — at any given moment, even when passengers are focused on other activities. For instance, these ambient human-centric lights — which can be embedded in doors, seats, or ceilings — can change color or flash a particular sequence just before the vehicle swerves or applies the brakes, allowing passengers to instinctively prepare for sudden movement.
Exterior SSL can increase safety
LEDs can also radically change the game when it comes to exterior lighting. In the future, intelligent display systems on the front and back of a vehicle could send messages or project information in order to communicate with pedestrians or other cars on the road, such as flashing a message to pedestrians that it’s now safe for them to cross the road.
This would be especially important in a world of autonomous driving, because pedestrians are safer when they know the intentions of oncoming vehicles. They don’t have to peer through the windshield to discern a hand gesture or head nod; they’ll get a lighted message that tells them it’s okay to proceed.
Already we’re seeing the introduction of high-resolution, controllable LEDs that feature thousands of individually addressable pixels to safely light the road ahead and project valuable information and warning signals to pedestrians.
Controllable LED headlamps will move beyond currently-available adaptive-beam technology that responds to reduce glare for oncoming vehicles. For drivers, these headlamps can also flash warnings and messages regarding road conditions, such as “icy surface ahead.” On a winding and treacherous road, they can project lines that help drivers better negotiate the terrain, thus greatly enhancing safety (Fig. 2).
Another emerging trend is the replacement of single-source LCD technology with LEDs that can be separated into many discrete displays such as Osram’s Eviyos technology. Imagine that your taillights are sectioned into thousands of digitized pixels so that you can customize them to show a preferred pattern (Fig. 3). Instead of settling for the stock display from the manufacturer, vehicle owners could customize their exterior lighting to their heart’s content, adding a level of personalization never seen before.
There is so much real estate on the vehicle where LED lighting can be added. An Uber driver, for instance, could add LED lighting to the passenger-side door that signals to the customer that this car is their ride.
The road ahead for automotive lighting looks very promising. A variety of cutting-edge LED technologies are now emerging which will help ensure that the future of driving is not only bright but also safe and enjoyable.
Get to know our expert
KIMBERLY PEILER is senior manager, applications engineering, at Osram Opto Semiconductors. Peiler has 15 years' experience at Osram Opto Semiconductors in various application engineering roles. Prior to that, she was an R&D engineer at Yazaki North America, a Tier 1 automotive supplier headquartered in Japan. She has a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University and a certificate in business administration & management from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management.
For up-to-the-minute LED and SSL updates, why not follow us on Twitter? You’ll find curated content and commentary, as well as information on industry events, webcasts, and surveys on our LinkedIn Company Page and our Facebook page.
