Last year we thought BMW had shown us the ultimate in automotive lighting when they premiered BMW Laserlight on the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. We were wrong.
At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that runs January 6–9, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada, BMW will show us how it has taken Laserlight to the next level. The concept car it will put on display will also showcase OLED technology. BMW intends to use the 2015 CES to demonstrate that when it comes to lighting, no one does it better.
A quick review of BMW Laserlight reminds us that by using laser technology in conjunction with the latest in LED headlights, drivers of cars equipped with BMW Laserlight can see up to 600 meters at night—more than twice the illumination from conventional headlights. At CES BMW will display Laserlight that is linked to cameras, sensors, and driver assistance systems, turning it into an intelligent lighting system that, in BMW’s words, “opens up the prospect of numerous new functions in the future.”
Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting technology was featured on last year’s BMW Future Vision Luxury concept car. Normal LED lights radiate light from a single point, while OLEDs generate a uniform light across their entire surface. OLED lights are very thin; as thin as 1.4 millimeters. This allows OLED users such as BMW to create interior and exterior car lighting like none that has gone before.
OLEDs can be used as interior lighting, especially for accent lighting, giving designers a new medium to create shape and illumination in the interior design. Outside the car, engineers can build rear tail lights using OLED technology that will result in unique and heretofore unimagined rear light design, intensity, and even function. Apparently, at the 2015 we will get a taste of how BMW does it.
BMW’s lighting concept car is like a wrapped present waiting at CES for us to open it. But we have to wait until Tuesday.—Scott Blazey
