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Automotive lighting: the race for resolution with more integration

12th December 2022

Kiera Sowery

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The automotive lighting industry is driven by the demand to develop smarter, more energy-efficient and effective lighting systems for improved safety and comfort when driving at night.

The automotive lighting industry is driven by the demand to develop smarter, more energy-efficient and effective lighting systems for improved safety and comfort when driving at night. In addition, car manufacturers aim to differentiate themselves with a unique lighting signature. Engineers must, therefore, balance a number of criteria, including performance, regulatory compliance, aesthetics, and cost, making the design of the whole system increasingly complex.

And this is a typical strategy adopted by Plastic Omnium this year, which has added new technological building blocks to its portfolio with the acquisition of AMLS (Automotive Lighting Systems) in March and Varroc Lighting Systems (VLS) in October.

In this dynamic context, PISÉO announces its latest automotive lighting report: VW ID3 headlamps construction and performance analysis. PISÉO, part of Yole Group, always one step ahead of technology trends, lifts the veil on the architecture and performance of the Volkswagen ID3 front light, designed and manufactured by VLS. The report is aimed at engineers, designers, and marketers looking for an up-to-date and in-depth analysis of a headlight system based on ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) technology.

In this report, Olivier Andrieu, PhD. Innovation Leader and System Architect at PISÉO and Joel Thomé, reveal the steps in the building process and the compromises VLS engineers had to make to design this device based on a technology that is attracting increasing interest among leading car and automotive equipment manufacturers.

From halogen to xenon to LED, lighting technology in the automotive industry has undergone major shifts since the 1970s, with a quantum leap forward in less than two decades due to the emergence of matrix LED headlights.

The more LEDs are integrated, the higher the resolution. Despite LED’s ultra-low latency, the difficulty, at the overall ADB system level, still remains in minimizing the time between data collection and the actual light flow change.

In addition, PISÉO’s performance report reveals that the ID3 headlight is a high-quality product; its main strength lies in good optical architecture and photometric performance. However, the teardown unveils low rationality in the mechanical and electronic architecture of the system – illustrated, for instance, by a surprising layout of LED PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) in the LED source module – that confirms a design partly governed by the aesthetics of the front light.

The heatsink design also suffers from a lack of optimization, and the presence of a fan raises doubts as to the efficiency and reliability of thermal dissipation management. Performance evaluation with regard to regulatory compliance has been completed and reveals that the ID3 headlight compliance regarding beam projection exceeds regulatory requirements. However, compliance in terms of colorimetry may be a topic for discussion.