Automotive Lighting
Expanding the Horizons of Car Body Lighting
The presentation, “Expanding the Horizons of Car Body Lighting” by Dr. Thorsten Anger, outlines innovations in automotive lighting design, focusing on advanced lighting technologies and their implications for styling, functionality, and market adoption.
Published by LED professional ·
The comprehensive overview addresses challenges in integrating cutting-edge lighting solutions into mainstream vehicles while maintaining cost efficiency and aesthetic appeal.
Diverse Lighting Applications in Automotive Design
The presentation begins by detailing the diverse types of car body lighting, such as singular optical lit elements (e.g., lightguides), backlit surfaces, and three-dimensional illuminated structures. These lighting styles are heavily influenced by vehicle design, requiring bespoke solutions tailored to individual platforms. For instance, complex architectures with many individually addressable light points are illuminated by low-power LEDs and involve intricate mechanical assembly.
Challenges in Mainstream Adoption
While peak lighting designs often cater to high-end or low-volume vehicles, they struggle to translate economically to broader platforms. The variability in design, size, and functionality of car body lighting elements demands innovative, modular solutions. To address this, Lumileds proposes scalable, efficient, and environmentally friendly lighting technologies.
Innovative Lighting Solutions
Lumileds introduces a range of advanced technologies to overcome these challenges:
• LUXEON Versat 2016 LED Family: This series includes low-power automotive-qualified LEDs with customizable brightness levels, spectral tuning, and minimized footprints for enhanced integration. New options such as UltraBlue and Warm White LEDs cater to diverse aesthetic and functional requirements.
• Dynamic Signature Lights: Featuring 192 individually addressable pixels, these lights provide dynamic styling and functionality in compact designs.
• LUXEON 3D LED Series: This flexible, super-homogeneous light source is ideal for slim, elongated designs and offers three tiers: standard performance, economic design, and high-performance options.
• Coin Concept Designs: Modular, single-emitter solutions combine durable materials with advanced optical layers, enabling easy integration and mechanical tolerances for pedestrian safety.
Technical Innovations and Performance
Key innovations include collimator lenses for uniform lighting, diffuse film covers for smooth appearances, and optimized geometries for following car contours. These technologies are complemented by high luminous efficacy and tailored optical performances. For example, the new coin concept offers optical efficiency of 49%, with superior luminance homogeneity, making it suitable for larger, curved surfaces.
Market Adaptation and Sustainability
Lumileds emphasizes the need for mainstream market solutions that balance cutting-edge design with cost efficiency. Its modular and recyclable products cater to these demands while addressing environmental concerns. Automated integration and system modularity further enhance feasibility for mass production.
Conclusion
The presentation concludes with a strong focus on the future of car body lighting, emphasizing that innovative, scalable, and economical solutions are critical to widespread adoption. By offering customizable, energy-efficient, and stylistically versatile products, Lumileds positions itself as a leader in expanding the horizons of automotive lighting.
