New Vehicle Lighting Designs

Together with Covestro, one of the largest polymer manufacturer in the world, lighting and electronics specialist HELLA has developed a new design for vehicle signal lighting using holographic technology.

Since 2012, both companies have been pooling their expertise in the areas of plastics technology, as well as design and lighting technology, in order to use signal lighting as a style element. For this reason, the companies have been developing innovative designs for the front and rear lighting of electric cars in collaboration since 2015. The result is holographic lighting with 3D effects, as well as a seamless and aerodynamic design.

The rear of the vehicle is comprised of a lamp with three parts, each equipped with holographic technology. Designers at HELLA developed the holograms before Covestro then incorporated these into a transparent holographic film.

The holographic film is illuminated from behind using LED light sources and reflectors. This results in a 3D effect – as if the elements are floating freely in space.

HELLA and Covestro have not only re-designed the rear of the vehicle, but also the front. The companies have created a seamless, uniform surface. The signal functions have been realized with a three-part EdgeLight light guide. This spans the entire front of the vehicle as a continuous lighting strip. The two outer parts of the light guide create the direction indicator lights as well as daytime running lights, which can be dimmed to position lighting. The middle light guide is responsible for the continuous daytime running light and position light signature. These functions can also be animated. The area in front of the vehicle is illuminated using four so-called ComLED modules. The two main lighting functions of low beam and high beam lighting are executed by the matrix HD84 module developed by HELLA.

LED displays are integrated in both the front and rear of the vehicle in order to enable additional animations, such as the welcome light function. In the future, this could not only be possible when stationary but also during driving, in combination with other light functions, for example. When braking, for example, it would be possible to illuminate not only the stop lamp, but also show the additional indicator “STOP”.