Audi Unveils Lighting Technology That Allows Communication With Nearby Drivers

The technology installed in vehicles is advancing amazingly. Recently launched vehicles are equipped with AI functions, and vehicles even equipped with self-driving technology are being released one after another. While the technology installed in vehicles has advanced, the expressions that can be conveyed through vehicles are still stuck in the past.

Vehicles can only convey simple expressions, such as a turn signal indicating the direction and a long horn sound telling the driver to hurry up. Meanwhile, Audi engineers are said to have developed high-tech lighting to enable conversation with other drivers in the vehicle.

360 ultra-small OLED panels, eight signature lighting graphics

Audi engineers aimed to facilitate on-road communication: We wanted to allow the vehicle to express itself much more while driving. Audi’s lighting technology can make road conditions safer by informing surrounding vehicle drivers of the current situation and communicating with them.

Audi’s soon-to-be-launched electric SUV Q6 e-tron will be the world’s first to feature tail lamps that communicate with surrounding drivers. The vehicle’s tail lamp consists of 360 ultra-small OLED panels, and the triangular segments basically serve as pixels to create various lighting graphics. Drivers can choose from eight signature lighting graphics, including fixed and moving designs.

Initially, snowflake-shaped lights were developed but were changed to a triangle symbol indicating danger.

The lights on the Q6 e-tron are programmed to display two bold triangle-shaped lights, one on each side, when the driver behind them approaches too fast. Additionally, when Audi’s real-time traffic data detects a stationary vehicle or collision ahead, the triangular lights automatically turn on. Additionally, the triangle lights come on when the driver makes an emergency call, presses the emergency lights, or tries to get out of the vehicle.

“With hundreds of potential symbols, Audi is starting to express more things,” said Stephan Berlitz, Head of Lighting Development at Audi. Audi’s Lighting Development team initially created snowflake-shaped lighting graphics to express more situations, but many people who saw the lights from afar did not understand their meaning. Ultimately, the lighting development team revealed that they developed lighting graphics in the shape of a triangle, a worldwide symbol representing danger.

Sending a warning to the next road

Projection system under development

Stephan Berlitz said, “The red triangle light we developed may not feel like a revolution”, “but it is only the initial stage of a much broader project”. Audi plans to expand communication lighting to other models in addition to the Q6 e-tron.

Audi’s next-generation vehicles’ tail lamps are equipped with more OLED panels, and they are considering putting a message in the headlights as well. Additionally, Audi is developing a projection system that will send warnings to the road next to the vehicle, and Stefan Berlitz expects European regulators to approve the feature shortly.