Audi have launched their new Q5 with digital OLED technology promising to improve road safety while allowing personalisation of the taillight signature.
The benefits of OLEDs are about the extremely homogeneity of the light, its infinite dimmability with a very high contrast, and the possibility to be split into individually-controllable segments with diverse levels of brightness, with minimal gaps between the segments. The lighting unit does not require any reflectors, optical fibres, or similar optics. This makes OLED units very efficient, lightweight and flat, which considerably increases design freedom.
The high precision and great variability offer light designers a wealth of opportunities, using just one type of hardware. Q5 customers opting for digital OLED technology have a choice of three signatures in the taillights when purchasing their car. In the “dynamic” Audi drive select mode, the lamps additionally switch to another signature. Moreover, effects such as welcome/farewell animations can be implemented, plus the dynamic turn signal has been integrated in the new lamp units as well.
The taillights turn into a kind of display on the outer shell, which provides opportunities and prospects in terms of design, personalisation, communication, and safety performance; what has previously been solely a medium for signal functions is now additionally becoming a medium for displaying diverse types of content.