The Royal Park Hotel at Rochester, Michigan hosted last week our second US DVN workshop. 175 attendees convened from more than 50 companies. The rubric for the day was “How New Technologies Will Enhance Night Driver Vision”.
Last year US workshop was focused on LED. This year, the subjects which rouse the interest of most of the attendees was the state of the art in the development of Laser, OLED, and Matrix beam technologies.
Word was out that Audi took the challenge to have matrix beam headlights on its new A8 by the end of this year, a claim confirmed last week at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and by Steffan Berlitz at the DVN workshop in Rochester. Interestingly, Reiner Neumann expressed doubts about the homogeneity of light distribution this technology can offer in its present state of development. Once more, Audi are taking considerable risks to defend their strategic position as technological leader in the lighting field.
From the lecture of Osram’s Thomas Reiners, we learned that the development of a laser-excited remote-phosphor light source has advanced enough for Osram to announce the launch of a new laser light source for video projectors at the end of 2013 and that the development of a laser light source for the automotive market only waits for a Lighting supplier to take the tab and face the challenge to be the first to launch a laser headlamp.
John Peek from Philips presented his views on the maturity of OLED technology for automotive applications, in particular for interior lighting. Bruno Dussert-Vidalet from Astron-Fiamm claimed the development of OLED has reached the point where it fulfils all regulatory requirements for rear position lights and perhaps rear turn signals.
The afternoon panels and round table discussions, which have now become a signature of DVN workshops, were among the most passionate yet seen.
DVN will publish the conclusion of these exchanges in the workshop report coming soon, wherein we’ll precis the discussions on OLED, LED standardization, plastic lens, new materials and processes, or actuators, harmonisation of national regulations and the use of simulation tools.
I am gratified that this workshop will contribute to the progress of all these new lighting technologies in the automotive market and continue to strengthen the working relationships among GTB, GRE, and NHTSA.
In addition to the forthcoming workshop report, watch for additional content and commentary about the workshop coming soon in your weekly Driving Vision News.
Sincerely yours
DVN Editor in Chief