New-Tech Europe | March 2017 | Digital Edition

Automotive Special Edition

These LED advances have allowed designers to tailor light to specific needs in repeatable ways, never seen before. The Future There is no doubt that future research will continue to make more advances in the field of lighting psychology, and that research will be translated into real-world technology that will further advance the safety and aesthetics of vehicles. Future research will continue to focus on how lighting color affects our moods and perception and how much ambient lighting can influence ordinary driving tasks, such as navigation. Advances in connectivity and the Internet of Things will also offer more automated adjustments

to ambient lighting, ensuring it is constantly optimal for the environment in which it is operating. We know from research that ambient lighting has a large effect on human emotions, and we can use that research to produce precise and repeatable solutions that also enhance safety. At the moment, manufacturers assume that the driver will make the decisions that impact his or her concentration, such as turning off distracting lights. In the future, these adjustments will be made automatically. Automatic adjustment will also be used for other tasks, such as maximizing efficiency, or to adjust the ambient lighting accounting for the driving environment. For example, if an airbag is deployed, the lighting may

adjust itself to full brightness in case the occupants need to leave the vehicle quickly. Automated ambient lighting could also preserve battery life by dimming lights if the vehicle was running on battery power alone. Smartphones may be used to store preferred pre-set profiles for different drivers who may use the vehicle, or to adjust the lighting on instructions from the phone’s GPS. We can only imagine the improvements that could be implemented further in the future as devices get smarter and LED technology advances. One thing is sure, there is no sign of the advancement of creative ambient interior lighting for vehicles slowing down.

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