Probably the final vehicle lighting event of 2023 took place in Berlin on 12 December, initiated—as every second year— by Rainer Neumann. The well-known German Haus der Technik—Wissen durch Erfahrung (House of Technology— Knowledge through Experience) provides the umbrella for this small, 20-person German-language conference as a technical training event. Despite (or perhaps because of) its small size, Neumann brings together top speakers from Germany to talk about the latest developments in vehicle lighting.
Here is a condensed list of selected speakers and their main messages.
Claus Allgeier (PO lighting systems) showed new integrated front and rear end systems and talked about the influence of regulations.
Anette Sawonski (Ford) talked about the specifics of truck lighting. An extensive data collection showed that only 11 per cent (30 hours per year) are spent driving at night with the headlights on.
Wolfgang Huhn (Driving Vision News) analyzed the opportunities and risks of the new 360° lighting and gave an overview of what China has to offer in this field.
Ernst-Olaf Rosenhahn (Marelli AL) showed the GOBO (graphical optical blackout) technology as an alternative to MLAs (Microöptic arrays) and mentioned the visual noise that could obscure the real information.
Michael Hamm (TU Darmstadt) explained the evaluation of headlamp systems and the importance and fundamental weaknesses of the IIHS Top Safety Pick.
Jörg Kälble (BMW) explained what crystal effects BMW uses for their ‘Iconic Glow’ and welcome and interior applications.
Christian Schmidt (Hella) showed their Digital Flat Light for communication and announced an amazing smart glass application. He also showed a sustainable headlamp concept. Both innovations will be on display at CES in January.
Ralf Schäfer (Schäfer Consulting) talked about the synergies between automotive lighting and ADAS sensing. He showed some new approaches and possibilities.
Dirk Meyer (University of Applied Science Mittelhessen) showed some results of driver simulator experiments with optical warning projections his students carried out this year.
Stephan Berlitz (Audi) explained how road projections and dynamic OLED rear lamps are used to create an exterior user experience. Even a gaming application using headlamp projection was mentioned.
Neumann summarized and closed the event with an invitation to dinner on a boat on the Spree River in a warm, family atmosphere.
