Search

The Audi Q6 e-tron marks the start of the largest model offensive in Audi’s history. The model redefines standards in terms of performance, range, and charging. It is also the first fully electric model to roll off the production line in Ingolstadt. At this stage, the camouflaged prototypes of the brand with the four rings provide an early understanding of key areas of the vehicle’s technology and debut a global innovation in the field of lighting technology. Further information about the Audi Q6 e-tron prototype is available here. In addition, a video shows how the Audi Q6 e-tron model series takes light design, the range of functions, and road safety to a new level with the second generation of digital OLED rear lights. The active digital light signatures for headlights and rear lights are a world first and point the way to the future of lighting technology at Audi. Check out the video here.

The Ingolstadt-based premium carmaker fulfills this maxim with innovative lighting technologies and combines them with highly expressive design. Audi laser light Available for selected top models, Audi laser light doubles the range of the high beam. A small laser module in each headlight generates a light cone that extends several hundred meters as a spotlight. The monochromatic and coherent blue laser beam has a wavelength of 450 nanometers. A phosphor converter transforms it into white light suitable for roadway use with a color temperature of 5,500 Kelvin – ideal conditions for the human eye: Drivers enjoy greater contrast and tire less quickly. The laser spot, which is active at speeds of 70 km/h (43.5 mph) and above, also offers significant visibility and safety advantages. The laser spot dims automatically if the camera mounted on the windshield detects other cars within its range. Digital matrix LED headlights With the digital matrix LED headlights as top-of-the range equipment, Audi presents a worldwide first in a production vehicle: Broken down into minute pixels, their light can illuminate the road in high resolution. The design is based on a technology abbreviated as DMD (digital micromirror device) and is also used in many video projectors. At its heart is a small chip containing one million micromirrors, each of whose edge length measures just a few hundredths of a millimeter. With the help of electrostatic fields, each individual micromirror can be tilted up to 5,000 times per second. Depending on the setting, the LED light is either directed via the lenses onto the road or is absorbed in order to mask out areas of the light beam. In the Audi e-tron Sportback, the digital light that will expand the offering in mid-2020, performs multiple tasks. It can generate dynamic leaving- and coming-home animations that appear as projections on a wall or on the ground.

Digitization of light opens up multi-faceted communication channels Audi lighting technology combines exceptional design with high functionality Close teamwork between Lighting Technology and Light Design as a success formula Audi is advancing into new dimensions in automotive lighting technology. Originally, vehicle lighting mainly served the purpose of ensuring traffic safety for all road users. Previously unknown prospects are now opening up in the wake of digitizing headlights and rear lights: light becomes a medium of external communication and interaction, personalizes design, and provides customers with new styling and customization options. Lighting has made a veritable technology leap: The evolution from halogen light to xenon headlights to LED technology in automobiles took less than two decades. These milestones of new technologies provided customers with noticeably added value. As well as continually enhancing visibility, Audi lighting has been defining the face of the brand’s models in every era while extending everyday usability by an equally communicative and aesthetic dimension. In the wake of the transformation of lamps, both illumination and energy efficiency improved. Now, digitization provides another innovation boost with all-new design potential: Light is becoming smart. By means of light signals, the car interacts with its surroundings. As far back as in 2003, the then A8 offered adaptive light with automatic-dynamic headlight range control before a camera on the windshield began detecting other road users in 2010. Two years later, the brand underpinned its innovative prowess and pioneering role in the R8: The introduction of the dynamic turn signal that allows indicated directional changes to be perceived out of the corner of one’s eye marked a significant gain in safety – and still does.

The daytime running light signature has a digital character: Twelve light segments are positioned vertically next to each other here, separated by narrow spaces – like the 0 and 1 of the digital world. The turn signals and the two-line Matrix high beam, which is made up of 32 individually controllable LEDs, are located in the lower section of the lighting unit. They illuminate the road dynamically and precisely while hiding other road users from the cone of light automatically. The LEDs also act as cornering lights. The taillights of the high-performance Avant also conjure up associations with the digital world. Each unit comprises nine vertical segments that alternate with the brake lights, which are also segmented. Both the optional Matrix LED headlights with Audi laser light and darkened bezels and the LED rear lights are equipped with dynamic turn signal lights and run through RS-specific sequences when the vehicle is locked and unlocked. The Audi laser light, recognizable by the blue marker in the reflector, doubles the range of the high beams. In each headlight, a small laser module generates a light cone that acts as a spotlight extending several hundred meters. The monochromatic and coherent blue laser beam has a wavelength of 450 nanometers. A phosphor converter converts it into soft light suitable for roadway use with a color temperature of 5,500 kelvin, ideal for the human eye. This enables the driver to recognize contrasts more effectively and helps to prevent fatigue. The laser spotlight, which is activated at speeds of more than 70 km/h (43.5 mph), offers tremendous advantages in terms of visibility and safety. If the camera on the windshield detects other vehicles within range, the laser spotlight is automatically dimmed. All terms marked in the text are explained in detail in the technology lexicon at www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/technology-lexicon. The equipment, data and prices specified in this document refer to the model range offered in Germany.

The daytime running light signature consists of twelve light segments that are positioned vertically next to each other, separated by narrow spaces – conjuring up an association with the ones and zeroes of the digital world. In the lower zone are the turn signals and the two-line Matrix high beam, which is made up of 32 individually controllable LEDs. They illuminate the road dynamically and precisely while leaving other road users out of the cone of their light. The LEDs also act as cornering lights. The tinted HD matrix LED headlights with Audi laser light and the LED rear lights are equipped with dynamic turn signal lights and run through RS-specific sequences when the vehicle is locked and unlocked. The Audi laser light, recognizable by the blue marker in the reflector, doubles the range of the high-beams. In each headlight, a small laser module generates a light cone that acts as a spotlight extending several hundred meters. The monochromatic and coherent blue laser beam has a wavelength of 450 nanometers. A phosphor converter converts it into soft light suitable for roadway use with a color temperature of 5,500 kelvin, ideal for the human eye. This enables the driver to recognize contrasts more effectively and helps to prevent fatigue. The laser spotlight, which is activated at speeds of more than 70 km/h (43.5 mph), offers tremendous advantages in terms of visibility and safety. If the camera on the windshield detects other vehicles within range, the laser spotlight is dimmed automatically. The rear lights on the large grand tourer also appear digital. Each unit comprises 13 vertical segments that alternate with the brake light, which is also segmented. The LED light strip – an homage to the Sport quattro – interconnects the lighting units. The rear fog light is positioned in the center, as on a racing car. All terms marked in the text are explained in detail in the technology lexicon at www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/technology-lexicon.

From the incandescent lamp to the digital high-tech application: light-years of progress with Audi Halogen incandescent lamps enabled initial technical improvements that also affected the look of automobiles. With free-form headlights in the nineteen-eighties and clear lens covers in the late nineteen-nineties, designers were increasingly able to use light as a styling element to define the face of Audi models. The second-generation xenon headlights in the 1994 Audi A8 and the tiltable modules from 2003 onward marked development leaps that elevated the quality of light and the customer’s experience to a new level. The technology of LED light introduced in 2008 was used by Audi to make a veritable quantum leap. It replaced the previously unsegmented and indivisible lighting units, significantly surpassing the efficiency, range and illumination performance of the previous headlights. In addition to this technical progress, light-emitting diodes permitted much higher degrees of freedom in designing the light source, so light as a styling element acquired much greater significance. Segmentation as a Matrix and digitization expanded the potential even further: The lights of an Audi no longer serve the mere purpose of providing illumination. They create a new customer experience by pioneering external communication including social interaction as well as enabling a wide variety of lighting design choices. Headlight technology: looking ahead In 2004, Audi used light-emitting diodes for the first time in LED headlights, in the daytime running light of the Audi A8.Light-emitting diodes are semiconductors that can directly convert electrical energy into light. They operate with particularly high efficiency: their energy consumption is low and their light output high. In 2008, the first full LED headlights followed in the Audi R8. Today, headlights with LED technology are standard equipment in all model ranges – except for the Audi A1 as an entry-level model.

World premiere: The active digital light signature sets headlights and rear lights in motion in an unprecedented way For the first time, customers can select digital light signatures for the headlights and rear lights via the MMI and the myAudi app Package with digital light signatures available on demand This innovation will permanently change automotive light design and car-to-X communication: With second-generation digital OLED rear lights, the Audi Q6 e-tron is taking light design, range of functions, and road safety to a new level. Audi is gradually developing the technology into intelligent displays that can communicate with other road users by displaying information via the exterior lights – this is the new communication light. The active digital light signature is another world first making its debut in the Audi Q6 e-tron. It makes an entirely new and vibrant impression, pointing the way to the future of Audi lighting technology. For the first time, customers can optionally select digital light signatures for this new evolution of digital daytime running lights in the Matrix LED headlights and the new generation of digital OLED rear lights. In addition, customers may book digital light signatures on demand. The Q6 e-tron not only marks a new chapter in electromobility at Audi; lighting technology is an important part of Audi’s DNA. With the world’s first active digital light signature, the Audi Q6 e-tron ushers in a new era characterized by distinctive design and aesthetics unique to Audi. The second-generation of digital OLED technology shapes the look of new Audi models and increases their range of functions many times over. This, in turn, improves road safety, as impressively demonstrated by the communication light in the digital OLED rear lights.

The shoulder line runs in a wedge shape from the headlights to the rear lights, making the A3 Sportback appear longer. The surface below it falls inward, accentuating the quattro blisters and highlighting the body shoulder. With its concave side, the A3 Sportback is showcasing a completely new element of the Audi design. This creates an intensive play of light and shadow, which is mainly due to the strong contour in the sill area. The lower body line is drawn upward again before it reaches the rear wheel arch. This makes it appear particularly dynamic. The heavily inclined C-pillars also give the compact five-door car a forward thrust. They are virtually squatting on the rear wheels. A long roof edge spoiler provides shade for the rear window, making it appear particularly flat – this effect makes the rear end with its three-dimensional design appear extremely wide. This impression is reinforced by the circumferential shoulder line, the wedge-shaped rear lights, the implied air outlets at the wheel arches, the diffuser insert, and the trapezoidal tailpipe trims. Signed: digital daytime running lights The headlights are available in three versions. Even the basic version uses almost all LED technology. Their flat, wedge-like shape underlines the sporty character of the new Audi A3 Sportback. Trapezoidal angles at their outside corners are drawn downward. The matrix LED headlights, the top-of-the-line version in the range, integrate a lighting innovation from Audi in these angles: digital daytime running lights. Their matrix of LED elements in a three-by-five arrangement can be actuated variably, which means that the different versions of the new A3 Sportback each have specific signatures. While horizontal lines are characteristic of the basic model, two vertical LED lines emphasize the sportiness of the S line exterior.