Dynamic, Safe, Intelligent: The Light of the Future

Human-centric lighting: wellbeing thanks to targeted light colors

The “Human-Centric Lighting” project makes use of the fact that the human condition can be influenced to a certain extent by light. Blue, cool white light has a stimulating and invigorating effect, while warm white, reddish light has a calming effect. These effects are normally evoked by natural sunlight, but can also be generated in a targeted manner by the lighting in buildings and cars. The main purpose of “Human-Centric Lighting” is to stimulate the passengers on board and support their concentration and memory. Academic studies have proven that light technologies such as those used in “Human-Centric Lighting” can stabilize and have a positive effect on what is known as the circadian rhythm, i.e. our inner clock, in the long term. This effect usually becomes noticeable after two to three weeks. The project is nearing production maturity at Audi – in a few years, the new lighting concept could be installed in a large sedan. In a further development step, the vehicle’s interior lighting can adjust to the passengers’ mood independently: Sensors such as cameras and microphones provide the information for the “Mood Light.”

Digital matrix LED light: technology from the video projector

The digital matrix LED headlights that Audi is offering in the new Audi e-tron Sportback* are a novelty on the world market in large-scale production: Their light can illuminate the road in high resolution. The technology abbreviated as DMD (digital micromirror device) is also used in many video projectors. At its heart is a tiny chip containing around one million micromirrors, the edges of which are just a few hundredths of a millimeter in length. With the help of electrostatic fields, each individual micromirror can be tilted up to 5,000 times per second. Depending on the setting, the light is directed either via the lenses onto the road or into an absorber.

The digital matrix LED has multiple tasks in the Audi e-tron Sportback*. It can generate dynamic leaving- and coming-home animations that appear as projections on a wall or on the ground, transforming the area in front of the car into a stage. The light system can deliver cornering, city, and highway lighting with exceptional precision and supplement the high-beam light by masking out other road users with even greater accuracy. Above all, however, it offers innovative functions such as lane light and orientation light. On freeways, the lane light creates a carpet of light that illuminates the driver’s own lane brightly and adjusts dynamically when changing lanes. In this way, it improves the driver’s awareness of the relevant lane and contributes to improved road safety. In addition, the orientation light uses darkened areas masked out from the light beam to predictively show the vehicle’s position in the lane, thereby supporting – especially on narrow roads or in highway construction zones – the safe lane centering assist. The marking light function is also used in conjunction with the optional night vision assist. The light automatically draws attention to any pedestrians it detects, thereby reducing the danger of overlooking pedestrians in the immediate vicinity of the lane.

Design on demand: the dynamic taillight

The light signatures on the rear end are among the important distinctive features of the Audi models. As part of the “Design on Demand” project, the exterior lighting is becoming dynamic thanks to flat OLED units of the next development generation that consist of more than 50 segments. While previous Audi models have featured up to four freely designed complex light segments to realize a specific design, the new technology of digital OLED makes customizable lighting design possible for the rear lights. The individual segments can be activated as needed and their brightness continuously adjusted. Audi designers and developers can thus produce a wide variety of lighting designs with the same hardware. The benefits of OLED include perfect contrast, high homogeneity, and minimal spacing between segments. Digital OLED is therefore the perfect technology for executing a highly precise and versatile form of customizable lighting design.

As well as the wide range of possible lighting designs, digital OLED can serve as a display element in the rear lights and thus as a Car-to-X communication element. Predefined symbols, for example, can be displayed to alert other road users promptly to local hazards such as black ice or the approaching end of a tailback.

The equipment, data, and prices specified in this document refer to the model range offered in Germany. Subject to change without notice; errors and omissions excepted.