Road Map Of The Intelligent Automotive Headlights Technology
The automobile sector has been one of the few sectors which have not seen any drastic decline in growth over the years. Even if there is a low growth in any region of the world, some other region covers up for the loss. There has been an increase in the year on year production and sale of both private and commercial vehicles which have resulted in the increase in the sale of smart headlights. There is a congestion in the automobile market of developed regions like America and Europe majorly due to an already dominant presence of vehicles, but the emerging markets of China, India, and Indonesia have overcompensated for it. With the steady GDP growth rate, these countries would continue to provide the automobile sector a boost which in return will boost the intelligent headlight industry statistics. Smart adaptive headlights are a common feature of high-end vehicles and the rising disposable income has resulted in the rise of the sale of luxury lines which again in return has increased the smart headlight market share. Apart from the economic and financial outlook, government policies play an important part too. Road safety policies have become stringent with the rising number of road fatalities. This is a booster for the smart headlight industry as the primary functionality of intelligent headlights is safety, for not only the driver and passenger of the vehicle but also for the pedestrians, bystanders and other vehicles on road. European, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and most other governments allow usage of intelligent headlights on road. The USA has not yet allowed the same but with the recommendation of the regulatory body, the huge market will soon be open for the smart headlight industry in the US. Considering the demand and supply parameters, it will be conducive to say that there will be an accelerated growth for the concerned industry. As per UMI, the Global Intelligent Automotive Headlights market is expected to reach US$ 13.74 billion by 2025, driven by change in consumer preferences and innovation in the headlight technology. The rapidly decreasing cost of LED and rise in need for energy efficient lighting solutions are expected to fuel the adoption of this technology in the coming years in the automotive industry
Some of the major product launches, business expansions, acquisition, and collaborations are listed in the succeeding section:
Top Product launches
- January 2019: Osram Opto Semiconductors Inc. introduced an ultrafast laser driver with a high-power, multi-channel Surface Mount (SMT) laser for LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) system
- January 2019: Hyundai Mobis showcased its latest communicating lighting concept at CES. It showcased that communicating lighting system can integrate with MOBIS’ Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) enabled with Adaptive Drive Beam (ABD) technology. This integrated system offered a more efficient self-adjusting headlight due to its enhanced object detection and processing capabilities
- November 2018: Mercedes Benz launched digital HD headlights that displayed messages on the road and can project navigation guides and traffic signals
- November 2018: Everlight demonstrated its latest automotive infrared and lighting products and modules including its ADB matrix headlamp. The ADB matrix intelligent LED headlamp of Everlight is equipped with a CCD sensor to detect oncoming vehicles and adjusts light source accordingly to avoid interference
- October 2018: Hyundai Mobis developed the world’s first Advanced Adaptive Driving Beam (AADB) which safely ensures vision with the high beams turned on all the time in connection with the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). Hyundai Mobis planned to use this technology to lead the future car lamp market that requires precise light control
- September 2018: Osram developed Oslon Boost HX, it can project light on the road in the form of symbols. It can be used to let the drivers know when they are too close to the vehicle in front or warn them about roadworks or other problems
- May 2018: Ichikoh Industries Ltd. exhibited its latest technology of lighting and electronic mirror, a technology where a high beam prevents glare to drivers of oncoming cars and cars in front while maintaining the quantity of light by having high-definition lighting patterns. It can also localize pedestrians while providing anti-glare on pedestrians by avoiding lights on their upper body
- October 2017: Ichikoh showcased its latest lighting and Camera Monitoring System (CMS) technologies to answer growing needs in automated driving during the Tokyo Motor show, in Tokyo Big Sight. It improved night time visibility and maintained good visibility, even in rain and dirt. It does blind spot detection using image analysis
Top Business Expansions
- April 2018: Tungsram became an independently operating international firm with lighting subsidiaries in 22 countries
- September 2017: Ichikoh Industries Ltd. created a new plant in Japan, located in Morinosato, Atsugi-shi. This new facility was created to gradually take over the production of the Isehara plant, to secure the growth of headlamp business targeted by the company
- November 2018: Hyundai Mobis began making a full-fledged commitment to discover promising global startups and invest in them. It opened another center in Shenzhen, China to boost its strategic collaborations with Hyundai CRADLE in areas such as the US, China, Europe, and Israel to boost artificial intelligence
- September 2018: ZKW Slovakia s.r.o. founded in Krusovce in 2007, is expanded to expand itself to 37500 square miles. It primarily produces headlights and fog lamps and works to develop new light system
- November 2017: Osram opened its new LED plant in Kulim, Malaysia. It was supposed to manufacture LEDs for smart lighting functions i.e. car headlamps that adjust their settings according to road conditions and that minimize glare for other motorists
- June 2017: Magneti Marelli inaugurated an automotive lighting plant in China. It is a collaboration between Changchun Fudi Equipment Technology Development Co. LTD. (FUDI), a Chinese investment company with activities in the automotive component industry and Magneti Marelli
- April 2017: Hyundai Mobis invested around 140 billion towards opening a new lamp plant in Mosnov, near Ostrava, Czech Republic. This plant has an annual capacity of 750,000 headlamps
Top Acquisition and Collaborations
- January 2019: Osram worked with GaN Systems and developed a laser driver with a one nanosecond pulse rise time while driving all four channels at 40A each to deliver 480 W peak power. This peak power then can be modulated at low-duty cycles to produce high-resolution 3D cloud points at long range for new LiDAR designs
- January 2019: HELLA and AEye extended their strategic partnership to deliver customized sensing and perception solutions for ADAS and Automated Driving (AD) based on AEye’s iDAR technology.
- January 2019: Valeo and Cree, Inc. announced that the companies have jointly developed the first complete High Definition (HD) LED array solution for automotive lighting systems.
- October 2018: ZKW invited start-up companies to take part in its “Drive Light and Sight” start-up competition. The jury, consisting of experts from ZKW and Oberbank, honored the best ideas and most creative approaches
- October 2018: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its automotive components business Magneti Marelli S.p.A. to CK Holdings Co., Ltd., a holding company of Calsonic Kansei Corporation, a leading Japanese automotive component supplier
- July 2018: To resolve the lamp fog issue, Hyundai Mobis partnered with INITZ (SK Chemical’s subsidiary), which is a Korean materials supplier and successfully developed a new material that does not emit any gas
- May 2018: Lighting Major Neolite ZKW of India entered into a technical alliance with Spanish player Andaltec on 22 May. The technical agreement was for sourcing technical know-how, designs, and software and for the development of new lighting products using plastics
- April 2018: Tungsram acquired GE Lightings local units in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Turkish branches.
- April 2018: LG Electronics (LG) acquired ZKW Group, capping a deal worth more than EUR 1.1 billion, LG’s largest acquisition to date. Under the terms of the transaction, LG Electronics acquired 70 percent stake in ZKW Group with parent company LG Corp. purchasing the remaining 30 percent
- January 2017: Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd and Quanergy Systems, Inc. collaborated to design an automotive headlight concept with built-in Quanergy S3 solid-state LiDAR sensors. These sensors check the forward and the sides of the road and provide real-time long-range 3D views of the environment around the vehicle. It provided the ability to recognize and track objects