Speaking of Automotive …New Kid in Town
OLED taillights are a ‘thing’, and while they might be limited to high-end models currently, their ability to be shaped and programmable makes them an ideal candidate for such vehicles. OLED taillights are very thin, especially when compared to bulb taillights, and will not need individual bulb replacements ever, since they have no bulbs. That said, if a problem should arise the entire unit would likely be replaced, although display manufacturers tout their 20,000 hour lifetimes (54 years @1 hr./day average) and high brightness. What makes OLED taillights even more attractive, despite their higher cost, is that each pixel is addressable, meaning that turn indicator and other indicator patterns can be programmed into the display system, making them individually customizable.
But there’s a new kid in taillight town and Hyundai Mobis (012330.KS) is using micro-LEDs to produce a combination brake light and rear indicator package for an unnamed European car manufacturer. The micro-LEDs are packaged in a 5.5mm film that can be conformed to any shape or curve that according to Hyundai Mobis, ‘lowered the volume by 40%”, which we take to mean the package thickness when compared to high-brightness LEDs. What makes this unique, aside from the use of micro-LEDs, is that typically brake lights were separate from indicator lights as the former need a higher brightness. Based on the fact that each micro-LED is addressable and programmable in the Mobis display, the brightness of each function is controllable by turning on more LEDs, along with the same pixel-by-pixel functionality that is seen in OLED taillights.
Since full specs are not available yet, we cannot confirm the actual size of the LEDs used, which would confirm whether this was a true ‘micro-LED’ product, but at least the lights have passed reliability tests in the US and Europe thus far. The lamps took two years to design and develop manufacturing and the Hyundai Mobis lamp segment head says the company will continue to accelerate the development of the technology. There have been some taillight designs using small (mini?) LEDs, but none that have been able to combine the brake and turn functions in one product.
But there’s a new kid in taillight town and Hyundai Mobis (012330.KS) is using micro-LEDs to produce a combination brake light and rear indicator package for an unnamed European car manufacturer. The micro-LEDs are packaged in a 5.5mm film that can be conformed to any shape or curve that according to Hyundai Mobis, ‘lowered the volume by 40%”, which we take to mean the package thickness when compared to high-brightness LEDs. What makes this unique, aside from the use of micro-LEDs, is that typically brake lights were separate from indicator lights as the former need a higher brightness. Based on the fact that each micro-LED is addressable and programmable in the Mobis display, the brightness of each function is controllable by turning on more LEDs, along with the same pixel-by-pixel functionality that is seen in OLED taillights.
Since full specs are not available yet, we cannot confirm the actual size of the LEDs used, which would confirm whether this was a true ‘micro-LED’ product, but at least the lights have passed reliability tests in the US and Europe thus far. The lamps took two years to design and develop manufacturing and the Hyundai Mobis lamp segment head says the company will continue to accelerate the development of the technology. There have been some taillight designs using small (mini?) LEDs, but none that have been able to combine the brake and turn functions in one product.
Segmented OLED Taillight - Audi Q5 - Source: Audi
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