Lighting technology through the ages
Back to the Future
Audi LED light
© press-inform – the press office
The light in a car has long been more than a cone of headlights that illuminate the dark night. Over the years, front and rear headlights have become one of the most important driver assistance systems. However, this is not the case all over the world.
The German premium manufacturers in particular have made a name for themselves in the field of lighting technology over the past few decades. The breakthrough came at the end of the 1980s with the BMW 750i, which introduced the bright xenon light and duped the competition from home and abroad. Xenon light has long been cold coffee, because LED and laser light systems are now the measure of all things bright. Hundreds of meters in front of the vehicle they illuminate the area in front of the vehicle and even shade oncoming traffic through the integration of intelligent camera systems.
The situation looks a little different in the USA, because many lighting systems that have long been established in Europe are still approved in the USA. This applies in particular to the laser headlights that BMW or Audi, for example, equip their vehicles with at least as an option. The laser is a strongly bundled beam of light that can be used to do all sorts of pimps. But in everyday automotive life it can also mimic a completely harmless all-purpose weapon. For example, illuminate the road almost perfectly and as bright as day. The LED lights, which illuminate the lights of almost every new vehicle with great emphasis, have taken off after some delays. Years ago, the Mercedes S-Class of the W 222 generation was the first car in the world to have no light bulbs on board at all. The small LED lamps make it possible – bright white and extremely economical. Xenon light, once adopted from expensive aircraft technology as the brightest light innovation, has long been a gloomy history, LED lights are currently in vogue and anyone who wants to show something innovative can rely on laser light or special versions of LED modules.
The bluish shimmering laser light gets its white color from a phosphor flake and is distributed as desired. The reflector of a laser headlight is only as big as a 20 cent piece. Nevertheless, the laser light is far brighter than LED headlights and can be controlled even more precisely. In addition, more and more manufacturers are relying on the further development of LED technology, the OLEDs, especially for the rear lights. The organic light-emitting diodes consume even less electricity and are just 1.4 millimeters thick. One advantage of OLEDs is the flexibility of the larger-area components – compared to conventional LEDs – and the associated possibility of controlling individual segments. Because of this feature, OLEDs are particularly suitable for rear lights, which have always been used as design elements. But LED headlights have long been criss-crossed by intelligent islands of light at the front too. The lighting technology ensures that consumption is reduced, because LEDs use significantly less energy than halogen bulbs or xenon burners. “The advantages of the digital OLED are, in addition to perfect contrast, high homogeneity and minimal segment spacing,” explains Stephan Berlitz, Head of Development for Lighting Innovations at Audi There are still many possibilities for the further development of this technology. “
The new Mercedes EQS offers a lane change assistant that uses digital light to guide the driver on the right lane. “For us, the headlight has long since become a driver assistance system,” explains Mathias Thamm, Head of Innovations and Technologies at VW to be able to adapt perfectly. ” The success can be seen at first glance in the evening. Depending on the speed, road layout and the vehicle in front, the light cone adapts variably and illuminates the roadway with glistening brightness. When the high beam of the new LED headlight is switched on, it also increases the range from around 100 to almost 550 meters. With an SUV like the VW Touareg, in addition to functions such as city and country road lighting, lighting for encounters or high-beam high-beam lights, there is even a static and particularly wide off-road light to safely illuminate the area in front of the vehicle at an angle of 90 degrees – all automatically. Only the fog light has to be switched on individually by the driver. “There are currently hardly any sensors that can measure whether it is fog, perhaps just a reflection of snow or something else,” says Mathias Thamm.
In the USA there are also xenon and LED headlights, but they can do far less than the European versions. Models such as an Audi A3 or a Mercedes S-Class therefore have to reduce their entire lighting package and some functions are blocked according to the requirements of the US authorities. According to the requirements of the US authorities, there are only two variants: driving lights or high beams – on or off. Laser light, guided LED lights that adapt to the environment and block out oncoming traffic – everything is known, but not permitted, where a directive from 1968 still sets the tone, or rather the light. According to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Regulation number 108, there are only lights on or lights off – and nothing in between. A few years ago it looked like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was changing the 1967 regulation under pressure from manufacturers in Asia and Europe – nothing has happened so far. The reasons are varied and hardly anything other than put forward. One of the main reasons is the national industry, because the domestic car manufacturers were lagging behind in terms of lighting technology and their own suppliers did not have the relevant expertise.
Colorado or Montana, sees countless SUVs of every year with gigantic LED spotlights that could light up half the state. Regulation is lax here and almost anything is allowed. It looks very different in a country like Germany. LED retrofit solutions for two handful of young used vehicles have only been permitted here for two years. The light of the retrofit solution from Osram is up to three times brighter than the minimum legal requirements and its color is comparable to daylight, as the lamp brings strong contrasts and a long range into the car. Thanks to LED technology, it shines twice as brightly and up to five times longer than a comparable halogen version, has to be replaced less often and also consumes less energy. Particularly practical: the lamp change from halogen to Osram LED can be carried out by yourself without any modifications and with manageable specialist knowledge. In contrast to the surcharge for the factory solution, the LED system per vehicle is comparatively cheap at just under 130 euros; Admittedly, it costs a multiple of a halogen bulb, which is settled at around 15 to 30 euros. An entry in the vehicle documents is not necessary. It is sufficient to have the general operating permit from Osram with you for a possible inspection.