Vehicle Interior Lighting System: A Review

Abstract— Ambient light feature is becoming a signature feature
of vehicles. It is not only effective as a mood lighting or as an
entertainment feature but also as a driver assistant system. The
lighting system can be controlled automatically according to
vehicle operating conditions or a manual control can be given to
user. This paper presents a brief survey of existing vehicle
ambient lighting system. Future scope gives an idea about the
new technologies like voice and gesture recognition that can be
integrated in existing lighting systems.
Keywords— interior lighting, driver assistance, vehicle safety,
automotive networks, LED
I. INTRODUCTION
Automotive industry has been going through remarkable
changes from last few decades. Electronics can be said as a
key player in this transformation. Vehicle interior and
exterior lighting is one of the area of interest for Electronics
engineers. This is the area where lot of improvement can be
done for enhancing driving experience using smart electronic
techniques. Technological advancement, such as packaged
LED and LED panel for automotive interior lighting is
expected to create huge impact in automotive sector.
Over the past few years, more and more vehicles are
starting to offer interior lighting as a standard or optional
feature. Vehicle interior lighting is no more just a roof lamp
provided so that you can find your things inside car. The
concept has changed completely. Vehicle interior lighting is
the soft illumination around the car’s centre console, door
handles and pulls, cup holders and sometimes completely
across the dashboard and in the vehicle’s footwells.
Typically, vehicle interior lighting is seen as a purely
cosmetic feature, serving no inherent vehicle safety function.
But the lighting may increase a driver’s perceived safety and
quality of the car, according to a new study conducted by
BMW and the Lighting Engineering Group at Ilmenau
University of Technology in Germany.
Vehicle interior lighting increases spatial perception,
making the vehicle’s interior feel bigger at night. A soothing
interior lighting stimulates an emotional atmosphere that
decrease driver fatigue by keeping him calm and focused.
Moreover, drivers think that ambient lighting increases the
perceived quality of the car’s materials and design. They also
found that the lighting made a car’s controls easier to use.
The global automotive intelligent lighting market is
expected to grow in few upcoming years. The rising demand
for advance intelligent interior lighting and advantages
associated with automotive intelligent lighting are expected to
drive the global market for automotive intelligent lighting.
Interior lighting is closely related to driver’s mind.
Instead of looking at it as a ‘feel good thing’, we can actually
use it for driver assistance. A system can be designed which
can provide driving assistance using interior lighting along
with the decorative features for enhancing driving experience.