As a fresh start in 2024, I went with DVN’s Philippe Aumont and Daniel Stern to CES in Las Vegas. I focused on lighting technologies and meeting our DVN members, while Philippe focused on interior technologies and Daniel on startups, ADAS and lidar companies. We are preparing our detailed CES reports for next week. Today we bring you highlights and general lighting information about set makers.
During four days from the 9th to the 12th of January, around 150,000 industry attendees visited 4,000 companies. In the automotive sector, the three main trends on display were AI (artificial intelligence); SDV (software-defined vehicles), and AD (autonomous driving). Lighting was not a main focus, but lighting is affected as a part of those three main trends.
SDV electrical architecture is changing the way we are developing functions and software for our lamps. It makes it easier and faster, but we must change completely the way of thinking—and the value and organisation sides of the supply chain are being shaken up.
AI is improving our intelligent functions like ADB with better detection, anticipation, and reaction. With AI our displays may interact more with drivers and VRUs (vulnerable road users).
AD may warrant more intelligent lighting functions to better detect obstacles and to support sensors and V2X communication between AD vehicles and human drivers and pedestrians. We’re already seeing the first of these kinds of developments, like the turquoise AD lamps on the Mercedes EQS in USA. A lot of demos from automakers and tier-1 suppliers were about how to showcase communication with exterior displays. Chinese automakers started two or three years ago with ISD (interaction social display) with simple pixelated lamps, and next steps are coming.
Technology is also coming from consumer to automotive. That is why it is important to keep an eye on CES with the most exciting tech announcements like TVs from LG and Samsung, computing updates from Nvidia and AMD, mobile gaming innovations. My main takeaways come from display technology. Transparent displays is the new trend. LG has presented his new OLED display when Samsung presented his new MicroLED display.
Seeing this technology make the jump onto automotive exterior lighting feels more like a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
