As early as many years ago, LED (light-emitting diode) technology has been applied to the materials used to make brake lights for vehicles. It has many advantages approved by lots of car owners, such as extremely low energy consumption, long lifespan, and super fast lighting.
Initially, LEDs can only be made in red, so they can only be used for brake lights. However, in the 1990s the well-researched blue LED provided the possibility for its application in the headlight.
According to the combination of the three primary colors, to emit white light, the blue LED needs to be combined with yellow. So the manufacturers covered a layer of light yellow phosphor coating on the blue LED – white LED was born!
LED headlight application
Speaking of LED headlights, we naturally think of Audi. This professional vehicle manufacturer who is professional in lights has always been at the forefront of the headlight design of major car manufacturers.
Audi A6L with 9 LED bulbs and light strips
Audi A5
From R8 to A3, in Audi’s product chain, models equipped with LED headlights are the most among all manufacturers.
Compared with Audi, BMW is “gentle” in LED technology. Their LED components are placed on top of the reflector bowl of the headlight group, which is a typical reflective LED headlight.
BMW 7 Series
For the superior BMW, the laser headlights seem to be the main focus of the next stage. The next-generation I8 is equipped with laser headlights.
BMW I8 equipped with laser headlights
Summary
The original high-end LED technology has gradually been mastered by major manufacturers. The days of “flying into the home of ordinary people” are not far away, but LED will not be the end of headlight technology. “Laser headlights”， “OLED headlights” and other technologies are rising rapidly, and I believe that the days when they will be widely applied to mass production models are just around the corner.
Post time: Jan-08-2020
