Development of Design Tools for Modeling the Illumination of Automotive Displays and Instruments

We will discuss our cooperative effort between university research and private industry on modeling, testing, and design of optical systems for illuminating automobile dashboard systems. Under this project, we are developing models and algorithms that yield cost-effective and optimized configurations: simple designs that provide uniform illumination using the fewest number of bulbs. This effort reflects how private industry can increase its competitiveness using university resources.