LEDs continue to penetrate vehicle applications
LED maker Osram Opto Semiconductors Inc., for example, has been contracted by Ford Motor Company to provide LED lighting for the automaker’s newly upgraded interiors using a Ford-specified "Ice Blue" backlighting color theme.
Osram Opto has also supplied a large number of LEDs for the Lincoln MKR concept car, which is the subject of an article in the forthcoming issue of LEDs Magazine (Jan/Feb 2007) by Robert Miller, the vehicle's lighting designer.
The MKR has a unique rear lighting system composed of a series of reflecting light chambers, each containing four red LEDs. These chambers are separated by spacers that can be illuminated by amber LEDs to create the turn signal.
"Elsewhere, the Volvo XC60 concept with its extensive use of Precision Light Guides (PLE by 3M) in over 21 different interior areas provided functional mood illumination that is right for the future of lighting. It is a very exciting time for lighting!"
Perhaps the most unusual use of LEDs was in the Ford Airstream Concept vehicle. In the rear passenger compartment of the vehicle is a 360-degree LED display supplied by DynaScan (www.dynascanusa.com). The system contains a module of LEDs on the central axis that spins rapidly to illuminate the circular display.