Browse Topic: Light emitting diodes (LEDs)

Items (953)
Passive fatigue can cause accidents with automated and regular vehicles. A proof-of-concept prototype [made with light-emitting diode (LED) matrices and white LED (WLED)] and a preliminary comparative usability test (N = 7) are used to study whether the active manipulation of simulated weather cues can be a potential countermeasure to passive fatigue. Participants rated system suitability, system impression, and their fatigue level similarly when they viewed a weather windshield heads-up display (HUD) versus a speedometer windshield HUD [no significant differences found and relatively small 95% confidence interval (CI) ranges around 0]. Qualitative analysis of interviews found that participants saw the potential value of the weather display and that display placement, dynamic graphics, and user activation were commonly mentioned themes. These results suggest the concept is theoretically possible, though further work is needed to prove the concept in practice.
Ensafjoo, MohsenLi, Jamy
Aircraft lighting systems play a vital role in ensuring operational safety, visibility, and regulatory compliance. Exterior lighting systems are essential for aircraft identification, navigation, collision avoidance, and ground operations under varying environmental conditions. These systems typically include navigation lights, anti-collision lights, landing and taxi lights. An aircraft lighting system comprises light sources, optical elements, electronic control units, power interfaces, wiring harnesses, and mechanical mounting structures. Among these components, optics are critical as they control light distribution, intensity, color accuracy, and efficiency while withstanding harsh aerospace environments such as vibration, thermal cycling, and aerodynamic loads. Aircraft exterior lights are subjected to severe thermo-mechanical stresses due to aerodynamic loading, vibration, and thermal cycling. The use of high-performance optical polymers such as Cyclo Olefin Polymers (COP) provides excellent light transmission and stability; however, their relatively lower mechanical toughness makes them susceptible to stress-induced cracking during assembly. In the baseline configuration, the Circuit Board Assembly (CBA) was fastened directly onto the optic using self-tapping screws. During assembly, frequent crack initiation was observed in the optic around the fastener locations, leading to concerns regarding reliability and maintainability. To address this issue, a redesigned mounting approach was developed that eliminated direct fastener penetration into the optic. Instead, the CBA is retained using a precision clamping mechanism, thereby distributing assembly loads uniformly and avoiding localized stress concentrations. COP material was retained due to its superior optical characteristics and compliance with photometric requirements for aircraft lighting applications. The redesigned optic-CBA interface was validated through Highly Accelerated Life Test (HALT), incorporating combined vibration, temperature, and thermal shock profiles. Test results confirmed that the new clamping design prevented crack formation, improved mechanical robustness, and ensured long-term optical performance. This paper presents the problem definition, root cause analysis of fastener-induced cracking, the design rationale for adopting a clamp-based mechanism, and detailed HALT validation results. The study highlights the importance of integrating material properties, fastening strategies, and environmental testing in the design of aerospace lighting systems. The proposed design methodology provides a pathway to enhance reliability and lifecycle performance of critical optical components in aircraft applications.
Vialta, FredericoS, NikhilKatageri, PraveenSP, PradeepSingh, Abhimanyu Kumar
A demonstration ride shows the glare-free, game-changing power of adaptive driving beams, already available in Europe. An approval test from NHTSA is proving difficult for OEMs to pass. I'm riding in the second row of a Lincoln Navigator fitted with Forvia Hella's adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlight system. The low- and high-beams are on, blasting everything in front of us for between 350 and 500 feet (122 and 152 m) with a bright, daylight-temperature LED light. Even traffic and street signs at the edges of the road, which normally aren't as well illuminated, are bathed in brightness. A car pulls out in front of us, and the system instantly adjusts, creating a tunnel of unlit space on and just next to the vehicle ahead. So even though we still have high beams on the rest of the road, that driver isn't facing the harsh glare that is the No. 1 complaint about today's high-intensity headlight systems.
Clonts, Chris
Headlight glare remains a constant problem among the driving public. Following several decades of mostly incremental progression in headlight design, the past twenty years have witnessed rapid evolutions in technology and design that have made substantial differences in the appearance and performance of automotive headlights. Most obviously, there has been a transition from yellowish-white sealed beam and halogen lamps, to high-intensity discharge and more conclusively, light-emitting diode sources with a distinct, cool-white color appearance. This transition has increased perceptions of brightness, both of the forward road scene (potentially benefiting the headlight user) and of the headlights themselves (increasing visual discomfort for opposing drivers). The mix of vehicles has also increased in size, resulting in higher-mounted headlights and the potential for higher light levels at other drivers’ eyes. Variability in headlight vertical aim has possibly decreased in very recent years, but still remains quite variable. Perhaps most crucial for the latest rounds of complaints about headlight glare, the peak luminous intensities of headlights over the past two decades have increased and the vertical inclination of these peak values has also increased, along with the sharpness of the gradient between the upward regions of low intensity and the downward regions of increasingly high intensity. Because roads are not perfectly straight or flat, these developments can increase the severity of glare episodes. Described in this paper is a zone-based concept for glare control based on the likelihood of headlight illumination in a particular angular zone to reach the eyes of other drivers. Zones more likely to glare other drivers would have more stringent intensity limits to reduce the probability of bothersome glare. Possibly in conjunction with some overall upper limits on low-beam luminous intensity, the impacts of such a system on glare and visibility are assessed.
Bullough, John D.
Automotive displays have become an essential part of modern vehicles, not just for aesthetics but also for improving safety and user interaction. As cars get smarter, the industry is leaning heavily into advanced display technologies to provide drivers and passengers with clearer, more responsive visuals. Technologies like Active Matrix LCDs (AMLCDs) and AMOLEDs are now common in dashboards, infotainment systems, digital clusters, and even head-up displays. These display types are popular because they offer great brightness, vibrant color, and wide viewing angles — all of which are important in a car, where lighting conditions can change constantly. But to make these displays work effectively, a solid backplane is critical. That’s where technologies like amorphous silicon (a-Si) and low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) come in. Among these, LTPS has gained popularity due to its ability to support high-resolution, high-refresh-rate screens, thanks to its higher carrier mobility. Still, LTPS isn’t perfect. It struggles with things like threshold voltage (VTH) shifts, uneven brightness, and flickering — issues that can shorten the display’s life and reduce performance over time. Traditionally, a simple pixel circuit called the 2T1C (two thin-film transistors and one capacitor) has been used, but it doesn’t handle voltage shifts very well. As a result, newer and more complex designs have emerged — including 4T1C, 5T2C, 7T2C, and even 9T2C circuits. These advanced pixel circuits add more components to help regulate voltage and current more precisely. Better compensation for VTH variations, improved image uniformity, reduced flicker, and longer display life. This paper takes a closer look at these different pixel circuit designs, especially how they perform in LTPS-based displays for automotive use. We provide a side-by-side comparison that breaks down the pros and cons of each approach. Understanding how these circuits work — and where each one excels — is key to pushing forward the quality and reliability of displays in next-generation vehicles.
Sinha Roy, DebarghyaDuggal, AnanyaSingh, Ujjwal Kumar
The objective of this study was to examine the effect of Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) of automotive LED headlamps on driver’s visibility and comfort during night driving. The experiment was conducted on different headlamps having different correlated colour temperatures ranging from 5000K to 6500K in laboratory. Further study was conducted involving participants of different age group and genders for understanding their perception to identify objects when observed in light of different LED headlamps with different CCTs. Studies have shown that both Correlated Colour Temperature and illumination level affect driver’s alertness and performance. Further study required on headlamps with automatically varying CCT to get better solution on driver’s visibility and safety.
Patil, Mahendra G.Kirve, JyotiParlikar, Padmakumar
This document establishes training guidelines applicable to fiber optic safety training, technical training and fiber awareness for individuals involved in the manufacturing, installation, support, integration and testing of fiber optic systems. Applicable personnel include: Managers Engineers Technicians Logisticians Trainers/Instructors Third Party Maintenance Agencies Quality Assurance Shipping Receiving Production Purchasing
AS-3 Fiber Optics and Applied Photonics Committee
This document establishes training guidelines applicable to fiber optic fabricator technical training for individuals involved in the manufacturing, installation, support, integration and testing of fiber optic systems. Applicable personnel include: Managers Engineers Technicians Trainers/Instructors Third Party Maintenance Agencies Quality Assurance Production
AS-3 Fiber Optics and Applied Photonics Committee
This paper investigates the concept of derating in light-emitting diode (LED)–based automotive lighting systems, emphasizing its role in enhancing LED longevity, performance, and reliability under varying operating conditions. Derating is introduced from a general perspective and is modeled as an approximately linear function of the driving current with respect to the temperature measured by a negative temperature coefficient thermistor (NTC). The NTC serves as a temperature probe in this context. We demonstrate that poorly designed derating strategies can negatively impact luminous flux, lifespan, and overall system reliability. These theoretical insights are applied to a simplified lighting system, which is analyzed using both steady-state and transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to illustrate the practical effects. It is shown that the distance between the NTC and the temperature-critical region primarily determines the slope of the derating curve, while having minimal influence on thermal protection on dynamic response. Finally, the precision of NTC-based temperature measurements defined by the thermistor specifications is briefly examined. It has an additional influence on the accuracy if the applied derating.
Stahlbaum, Ruben
Researchers have developed a prototype imaging system that could significantly improve doctors’ ability to detect cancerous tissue during endoscopic procedures. This approach combines light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with hyperspectral imaging technology to create detailed maps of tissue properties that are invisible to conventional endoscopic cameras.
Boosting the performance of solar cells, transistors, LEDs, and batteries will require better electronic materials, made from novel compositions that have yet to be discovered.
Thermal nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is a widely used method for detecting defects such as cracks, corrosion, and dis-bond layers in metallic and composite structures. Traditional thermal inspection methods rely on a high-intensity, broadband light heat source (e.g., flash lamp, quartz lamp) that generates heat that is absorbed by the material, and an infrared camera captures the transient thermal response to generate inspection data. However, inspecting low emissivity surfaces (such as unpainted aluminum and titanium alloys) poses challenges including high reflection of the heat source light that can cause inaccurate measurement of the surface temperature response, produce false defect indications, and potential sensor damage due to high-intensity reflections.
This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) discusses the desired characteristics of night vision goggle (NVG) filters that can be used with incandescent, electroluminescent (EL) and light emitting diode (LED) light sources to achieve NVG compatible lighting of aerospace crew stations. This document also discusses the parameters that need to be considered when selecting a night vision goggle/daylight viewing (NVG/DV) filter for proper contrast enhancement to achieve readability in daylight. The recommendations set forth in this document are to aid in the design of NVG compatible lighting that will meet the requirements of MIL-L-85762A and MIL-STD-3009.
A-20A Crew Station Lighting
Secondary crashes, including struck-by incidents are a leading cause of line-of-duty deaths among emergency responders, such as firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical service providers. The introduction of light-emitting diode (LED) sources and advanced lighting control systems provides a wide range of options for emergency lighting configurations. This study investigated the impact of lighting color, intensity, modulation, and flash rate on driver behavior while traversing a traffic incident scene at night. The impact of retroreflective chevron markings in combination with lighting configurations, as well as the measurement of “moth-to-flame” effects of emergency lighting on drivers was also investigated. This human factors study recruited volunteers to drive a closed course traffic incident scene, at night under various experimental conditions. The simulated traffic incident was designed to replicate a fire apparatus in the center-block position. The incident scene was complemented with a cone taper extending from the driver-side buffer to the edge of the roadway. The results indicate that higher-intensity lights were judged consistently as more glaring, but were only rated as marginally more visible. The rated visibility of the lights appears to be related to the perceived saturation of the color, while discomfort glare is related to the amount of short-wavelength spectral content. The results also suggest that the presence of highly reflective markings may decrease drivers’ ability to see first responders working adjacent to their vehicles.
Bullough, John D.Parr, ScottHiebner, EmilySblendorio, Alec
Researchers have developed a gel polymer-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that generates electrical signals from body movement to power electronics like LEDs and functions as a self-powered touch panel for user identification. The device can stretch up to 375 percent of its original size and withstand rigorous mechanical deformations, making it suitable for wearable applications. TENGs that convert mechanical energy such as body movement to electrical energy offer a solution to power wearable devices without relying on batteries.
This document presents minimum criteria for the design and installation of LED assemblies in aircraft. The use of "shall" in this specification expresses provisions that are binding. Nonmandatory provisions use the term "should."
A-20C Interior Lighting
A thin film that combines an electrode grid and LEDs can both track and produce a visual representation of the brain’s activity in real time. The device is designed to provide neurosurgeons visual information about a patient’s brain to monitor brain states during surgical interventions to remove brain lesions including tumors and epileptic tissue.
This ARP covers three common light sources, incandescent, electroluminescent and light emitting diode that, when NVG filtered, can be used to illuminate NVG compatible aerospace crew stations. It is recognized that many other different light sources can also be used for this purpose. Also see 2.1.1 for other SAE documents that cover particular applications within the crew station environment. This ARP sets forth recommendations for the design of NVG compatible lighting, utilizing these light sources, that will meet the requirements of MIL-L-85762 Lighting, Aircraft, Interior, Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) Compatible. This also includes the replacement document MIL-STD-3009: Lighting, Aircraft, Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) Compatible. Although this ARP concentrates on lamp light sources for illumination, the information contained within this ARP may be directly applied to incandescent, electroluminescent and light emitting diode information display devices. Regardless of the light source, the focus of this document is the understanding that the radiometric energy that can be amplified by the Night Vision Goggles (NVG’s) must be filtered to such an extent that it will not impact the operational use of the NVG’s while still allowing sufficient visible (photometric) energy to be viewed by the pilot.
A-20A Crew Station Lighting
A new type of organic light emitting diode (OLED) could replace bulky night vision goggles with lightweight glasses, making them cheaper and more practical for prolonged use, according to University of Michigan researchers.
This document is intended for connectors typically found on aerospace platforms and ground support equipment. The document provides the reasons for proper fiber optic cleaning, an in-depth discussion of available cleaning methods, materials, packaging, safety, and environmental concerns. Applicable personnel include: Managers Designers Engineers Technicians Trainers/Instructors Third Party Maintenance Agencies Quality Personnel Purchasing Shipping/Receiving Production
AS-3 Fiber Optics and Applied Photonics Committee
This document is intended for discrete and integrated digital, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and analog/radio frequency (RF) photonic components developed for eventual transition to aerospace platforms. The document provides the reasons for verification of photonic device life test and packaging durability. The document focuses on pre-qualification activity at the optical component level to achieve TRL 6. The recommended tests in this document are intended to excite typical failure mechanisms encountered with photonic devices in an aerospace operating environment, and to build confidence that a technology is qualifiable during a program’s engineering and manufacturing development phase. This recommended practice is targeting components to support electrical-to-optical, optical-to-electrical, or optical-to-optical functionality. Passive optical waveguide, fiber optic cable, and connector components that are integral to a photonic package are included. Component and photonic package radiation tolerance requirements are not within the scope of this recommended practice.
AS-3 Fiber Optics and Applied Photonics Committee
ARP6366 defines a comprehensive and widely-accepted set of specification guidelines to be considered by those seeking to use or design fiber optic sensors for aerospace applications. Some of the most common applications for fiber optic sensing within aerospace include inertial guidance and navigation (gyros) and structural monitoring (temperature, strain, and vibration sensing). Common sensor infrastructure elements include: transmitting and receiving opto-electronics (e.g., sources and receivers); multiplexing and demultiplexing optics; optical cabling; and signal processing (both hardware and firmware/software).
AS-3 Fiber Optics and Applied Photonics Committee
From televisions to smartphones, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are finding their way into many everyday devices. For use in displays, blue OLEDs are also required to supplement the primary colors — red and green. Especially in blue OLEDs, impurities give rise to strong electrical losses, which could be partly circumvented by using highly complex and expensive device layouts.
This SAE Recommended Practice provides the methods of measurements for electrical and photometric characteristics of LED packages. It provides procedures, requirements, and guidelines for the methods of the measurement of luminous flux and color maintenance of LED devices (packages, arrays, and modules) for ground vehicle lighting applications.
Lighting Standard Practices Committee
To ensure adequate visibility without excessive glare, vehicle headlights are designed to use a specific source of illumination. The optical designs of headlights gather the luminous flux produced by the light source to produce a useful beam pattern that meets the relevant requirements and standards for vehicle forward lighting. With the advent of solid state, light emitting diode sources for general illumination, an increasing number of LED replacement headlight bulb products has emerged over the past decade. In most cases, these LED replacement bulbs are not permitted for legal use on public roadways, but some countries have begun to permit specific LED replacement bulbs to be used legally on the road for specific makes, models and production years of certain vehicles. If they can be demonstrated to produce a beam pattern that meets the photometric requirements for a legal headlight, they are permitted to be used legally for on-road use. In the present paper we present photometric measurement data for two North American headlight systems originally designed for halogen bulbs. Each was fitted with a halogen bulb and with two different LED replacement bulbs and measured at specific angles to check photometric compliance with the minimum and/or maximum luminous intensity at those angles. We also present data on the illuminances produced at several locations along a hypothetical roadway to compare performance between the headlights with halogen bulbs and with each LED bulb.
Bullough, John D.Skinner, Nicholas P.
Temporal light modulation (TLM), colloquially known as “flicker,” is an issue in almost all lighting applications, due to widespread adoption of LED and OLED sources and their driving electronics. A subset of LED/OLED lighting systems delivers problematic TLM, often in specific types of residential, commercial, outdoor, and vehicular lighting. Dashboard displays, touchscreens, marker lights, taillights, daytime running lights (DRL), interior lighting, etc. frequently use pulse width modulation (PWM) circuits to achieve different luminances for different times of day and users’ visual adaptation levels. The resulting TLM waveforms and viewing conditions can result in distraction and disorientation, nausea, cognitive effects, and serious health consequences in some populations, occurring with or without the driver, passenger, or pedestrian consciously “seeing” the flicker. There are three visual responses to TLM: direct flicker, the stroboscopic effect, and phantom array effect (also called the “beads effect”). Metrics for the first two have limitations in both calculation and application. The phantom array effect has no established visibility measure at all, and this is the effect most associated with vehicular flicker because of the viewing conditions and frequency, plus the widespread use of PWM. Conventional wisdom from the recent past, especially concerning acceptable driver frequency ranges, needs to be reconsidered and replaced with improved guidelines to protect health and comfort. Four principal TLM waveform characteristics affect TLM visibility: frequency, modulation depth, duty cycle, and waveshape. This paper proposes much higher frequency operation if PWM control cannot be avoided; but it may be possible to modify the four principal waveform characteristics together to achieve reduced TLM visibility and improved health and comfort.
Miller, NaomiIrvin, Lia
A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed “supramolecular ink,” a new technology for use in OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays or other electronic devices. Made of inexpensive, Earth-abundant elements instead of costly scarce metals, supramolecular ink could enable more affordable and environmentally sustainable flat-panel screens and electronic devices.
A single strand of fiber has the flexibility of cotton and the electric conductivity of a polymer, called polyaniline. The newly developed material showed good potential for wearable e-textiles. Researchers tested the fibers with a system that powered an LED light and another that sensed ammonia gas.
Trends in automotive lighting are moving toward vehicle exterior lights, which will communicate with drivers and surroundings. The small size, lower power consumption, high efficiency, and substantially long life make LEDs a leading light source in automotive lighting applications. Losses in optical power for InGaN-based LEDs can be reduced up to 45% compared to AlGaInP, and phosphor-converted color LEDs can contribute to stable light output over the lifetime. Color LEDs will fulfill different requirements such as uniformity in color and luminance. Additionally, the mixing of different colors with white will underline the exterior features and aesthetic design of vehicles.
Janeva Azdejkovic, MersidaDenis, XavierMatsuyama, YujiMiyairi, Hiroshi
Researchers from the Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP) and the Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP) Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRG) of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, have developed the world’s smallest LED. It enables the conversion of existing mobile phone cameras into high-resolution microscopes. Smaller than the wavelength of light, the new LED was used to build the world’s smallest holographic microscope, paving the way for existing cameras in everyday devices such as mobile phones to be converted into microscopes with modifications to the silicon chip and software. This technology also represents a significant step forward in the miniaturization of diagnostics for indoor farmers and sustainable agriculture.
Batteries and humans like to be at room temperature. Thermal-management systems make sure that happens - while maximizing efficiency. When General Motors unveiled the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ, the EV luxury SUV with a 24-module Ultium battery pack providing more than 200 kWh of energy that contributes to an estimated 450 miles (724 km) of range and up to 750 hp, the company enumerated an array of technology features, ranging from the 55-in. total diagonal LED display powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Platform to the Four-Wheel Steer capability, which reduces the turning diameter of the SUV by more than 6.5 feet (to 39 ft, 4 ins). And there is a suite of other features. But among all that there was another feature perhaps not as glamorous as the sort of equipment in a luxury EV that will sticker at an estimated $130,000: a heat pump.
Vasilash, Gary S.
Imagine a thin, digital display so flexible that you can wrap it around your wrist, fold it in any direction, or even curve it over your car’s steering wheel. Well, imagine no more — researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago have designed such a material; it can even bend in half or stretch to more than twice its original length — and still emit a fluorescent pattern.
Researchers have designed a thin, digital display that can bend in half or stretch to more than twice its original length while still emitting a fluorescent pattern. The material has a wide range of applications, from wearable electronics and health sensors to foldable computer screens.
More pixels! This is a major trend in the display industry. The benefits of 8K or higher resolution TVs may be debatable. For eye catching applications such as AR/VR glasses, more and therefore smaller pixels are required for technical feasibility. Screen door effects and pixel inhomogeneities are easily visible and disturbing for the user on displays that sit closely to the viewer’s eye. μ-LEDs are considered an innovative technology for very high resolutions with pixel sizes of less than 10 μm and equally small pixel pitches. In general, they have the potential to be a groundbreaking display technology – provided production challenges can be solved. Just like OLED displays, μ-LEDs are an emissive display technology, i.e., each single subpixel is in itself a light source. Luminance and color variations between the individual pixels are likely. As this strongly influences the visual quality of the displays, a quality control and calibration of the displays is necessary not only in the laboratory, but especially in the production lines. The race for very high resolutions thus places increased demands not only on display manufacturers, but also on the suppliers of light measurement technology.
A research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Science, led by Professor Liu Xiaogang from the Department of Chemistry, has developed a 3D imaging sensor that has an extremely high angular resolution — it can distinguish points of an object separated by an angular distance, of as little as 0.0018°. The sensor operates on a unique angle-to-color conversion principle, allowing it to detect 3D light fields across the X-ray to visible light spectrum.
This AS covers subsonic and supersonic Mach meter instruments which, when connected to sources of static (Ps), and total (Pt), or impact (Pt-Ps), pressure provide indication of Mach number. These instruments are known as Type A. This AS also covers servo-operated repeater or digital display instruments which indicate Mach number when connected to the appropriate electrical output of a Mach transducer of Air Data Computer. These instruments are known as Type B.
A-4ADWG Air Data Subcommittee
Super-cooled large drops present serious threats to aviation safety and as a result, the problem has been addressed by the FAA with the additional icing certification requirement. SLD clouds often consist of bi-modal drop size spectra leading to great challenges when it comes to simulating and characterizing these conditions in situ and in icing wind tunnels. Legacy instrumentation for measuring drop size distributions and liquid water content has been challenged under these conditions. In this report, a high-resolution particle imaging instrument is described; this instrument addresses the need for measuring drop size distributions and liquid water content over a wide range of drop sizes (10 to 2500 μm or larger). A high-throughput megapixel digital camera is used to record shadow images of the particles. High-quality illumination of the particle field is provided with high-power LED illumination with driving electronics designed to provide pulse durations as short as 25ns with sufficient fluence. Image processing software has been developed to enable automated setup of the instrument, image acquisition and processing, and efficient storage of the particle images. Calibration methods regarding the dependence of the depth-of-field to drop size were developed to enable sampling statistics bias corrections due to variations in the sample volume. Measurements acquired in the NASA Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) are provided as an example of the measurement capabilities of the newly developed instruments.
Bachalo, William DonManin, JulienPayne, GregoryFidrich, MichaelIbrahim, Khalid
As LEDs replace traditional lighting systems, they bring more smart capabilities to everyday lighting. While you might use your smartphone to dim LED lighting at home, researchers have taken this further by tapping into dynamically controlled LEDs to create a simple illumination system for 3D imaging.
Headlamps should illuminate the traffic scene ahead of the vehicle in such a way that the driver can operate the vehicle safely and in a relaxed manner. At the same time, negative effects on drivers of other vehicles, pedestrians and other people should be minimized. Various technical parameters such as beam pattern, mounting height, headlamp aiming, and source spectrum can be tuned to find the necessary compromise. The physiology of the vision system under specific nighttime conditions strongly influences these factors and how headlamps can be best optimized for visibility and comfort. The SAE Improved Roadway Illumination task force collected and reviewed relevant research on these topics. This document is a comprehensive summary of this information. The goal is to enable lighting experts, advocacy groups, and non-experts (journalists, consumer organizations, car drivers) to better understand the benefits and tradeoffs of improved roadway lighting with modern headlamp technology. It should be noted that all studies cannot be included in this report, but the intent of this document is to provide the reader with a representative sample of the existing research as a starting point. Further, this document can be updated in the future to reflect new research findings.
Road Illumination Devices Standards Committee
The ability to control light using a semiconductor device could allow low-power, relatively inexpensive sources like LEDs or flashlight bulbs to replace more powerful laser beams in new technologies such as holograms, remote sensing, self-driving cars, and high-speed communication.
Automotive megatrends such as connected, autonomous and electrified vehicles are driving penetration of automotive electronic technology in every vehicle subsystem. However, these electronic units need to be interfaced with input/output devices from outside world. The same need to be interfaced with a robust and reusable architecture conforming to automotive norms. When generic electronic control units (ECUs) need to be reused across diverse vehicle families and segments, it is desirable that every ECU pin interfaced with the outside world needs to be capable of performing multiple tasks. This is particularly true of digital outputs (such as solenoids, lamps, on/off motors etc.) and digital inputs (such as command switches, pushbuttons, pressure switches, thermal switches etc.) Current smart switch peripheral ICs can be used only as outputs and cannot be configured as inputs whenever demanded by application requirements. Also, these smart switch architectures provide conservatively generic solutions which prove to be “over engineered” for many digital output solutions such as simple LED or Solenoid controls. This paper proposes a novel smart switch cum input interface architecture which can be optimally tailored to a given set of output load requirements such as current profile, thermal requirements, protection on one hand and a simple digital on/off input interface on the other hand. The architecture design employs a system engineering technique which lists performance requirements and explores alternate architectures to meet the same. All the alternatives are rated on various performance metrics to arrive at the rightmost choice fitting a given application. The paper ends with a design example which covers both hardware philosophy and a state machine based low level command/diagnostic driver. Future directions and opportunities for this solution are discussed at the end.
Vaidya, Vishwas Manohar
Synthetic fuels derived from renewable power sources, so-called e-fuels, will play a crucial role in achieving climate-neutral future mobility because they can be used in the existing fleets and in hard-to-decarbonize applications. In particular e-fuels that contain oxygen in their chemical structure can also burn more cleanly in terms of soot formation. For compression-ignition engines, polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODEs or OMEs) are among the most promising candidates for such oxygenated e-fuels. Here, we investigated the characteristics of injection and combustion of OME3-5 mixture compared to n-dodecane, a reference diesel-like fuel. Both single and multi-injection, comprising a short pilot injection, is used. Experiments were performed in a single-cylinder optically accessible Bowditch-type engine, injecting with 1500 bar pressure with a 3-hole injector (Spray B of the Engine Combustion Network). Liquid and vapor penetration were measured by imaging the spray illuminated by a pulsed light-emitting diode (LED). Ignition delay, lift-off length and flame morphology were investigated based on multi-spectral high-speed imaging of chemiluminescence. For simulations, a 3D CFD engine model was developed. The combustion simulation was performed on a 120° sector mesh onto which flow and turbulence fields from a gas exchange simulation are mapped prior to fuel injection. The model accounts for piston-ring blow-by. For the combustion of both fuels, detailed reaction mechanisms were used. In general, quite good agreement between model predictions and experimental results was achieved. In particular the consideration of blow-by losses by the CFD model produced a realistic behavior during the high-pressure cycle. Both CFD simulation and optical experiments, reveal significant differences between the two fuels. For OME, the liquid phase penetrates further into the combustion chamber, the ignition delay is shorter compared to n-dodecane and the equivalence ratio of OME during combustion is significantly leaner.
Wiesmann, FrederikBauer, EsraKaiser, Sebastian A.Lauer, Thomas
Sequential turn signals are becoming more common, partly because of the availability of the detailed temporal and spatial control of light that is allowed by LED sources. They seem to be popular with drivers, and some human factors considerations suggest that they may more effectively convey information about intended maneuvers. This research was designed to investigate possible benefits by presenting experimental participants with a variety of sequential and static turn signals under realistic field conditions. The experimental tasks were based on possible encounters at four-way intersections. Passenger cars were statically positioned to represent such encounters. Participants were seated in one of the vehicles and were asked to make simple but meaningful judgments about intended turns by the other vehicles. Visual conditions were realistic in terms of the viewing geometry and photometry. Experiments were conducted in the day and at night. Three experiments were performed. In two of the three experiments there were statistically significant preferences for sequential turn signals over static turn signals in subjective ratings, but comparisons between sequential and static turn signals in objective measures were not statistically significant in any of the three experiments.
Flannagan, MichaelWaragaya, TakeshiKita, Yasushi
Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD Developing single photon UV detection for compact chemical and biological sensors. This report summarizes the main lines of effort for the Electro-Optics Materials Research (EOMR) program including its goals and major accomplishments, focusing on the past 5 years. This EOMR program was an effort within 601102A.31B.1 titled “Optoelectronic and Integrated Photonic Materials and Device Research” for FY16-FY19 and 611102A.AA8.1 titled “Photonic Materials and Device Research” for FY20-FY21. The focus of this EOMR for most of the program was to develop novel semiconductor optoelectronic devices to reduce the size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) of chemical and biological detection and identification systems. Specifically, the program addressed the need for high sensitivity photodetectors in the near-UV (NUV) spectrum between 300 and 350 nm for biological agent detection using light-induced fluorescence techniques employed by the Tactical Biological (TAC-BIO) detector, developed by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center, as well as in the deep UV spectrum (220-240 nm) important for standoff chemical detection based upon fluorescence-free Raman spectroscopy. Late in the program, this effort pivoted to address assured communications challenges relevant to the Army modernization priority for future networks through examining how to improve the efficiency of solar-blind UV LEDs.
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