NeoView Kolon of South Korea have just unveiled their latest OLED development: transparent OLEDs to supplant LCD screens in vehicles’ interior displays.
Displayed on a rear-view mirror, for example, the OLEDs act as luminous lights depicting information on a transparent display. While head-up displays (HUD) such as these are nothing new in the automotive world, NeoView Kolon promise OLEDs are superior in quality, luminosity, resolution, field of vision, response and power consumption than current LCD and heads-up displays on the market.
We may see appearances in automotive applications, such as satellite-navigation screens in cars or even as an improved form of HUD. Currently, HUDs serve onlyas a supplement to conventional instrument gauges, but with the improvement in technology promised from OLED they may become the primary instrument cluster in future vehicles.
Lexus are implementing the technology in their 2010 RX model, which will feature an OLED display panel beside the speedometer. Apart from being thinner and lighter than typical LED panels, OLED displays are also brighter and easier to read.
There is also the EDAG Light Car concept seen at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, which demonstrates the mass application of the technology in the car. While we aren’t likely to see anything like the Light Car in the near future, and the peel-and-stick OLED turn signal or brake lamp is likely quite awhile in the future, it does give us an insight into what cars may eventually use to communicate with drivers and other cars out on the roads.(See Geneva motor show report at www.DrivingVisionNews.com )
