Ams Osram introduces intelligent RGB LED
Enables creation of dynamic colour and motion effects across hundreds of LEDs inside cars
Ams Osram's new OSIRE E3731i RGB LED is said to greatly simplify the implementation of dynamic, colour- and intensity-changing arrays of hundreds of RGB LEDs in car interior lighting.
The LED features a digital core that enables low-latency communication over a standard serial bus interface with any microcontroller. Ams Osram has also developed a new Open System Protocol (OSP) running on the OSIRE E3731i. Using OSP, any microcontroller can transmit instructions to modulate brightness and colour individually to each LED. OSP is available for use license- and royalty-free by any car, LED, lighting system or microcontroller manufacturer.
By using the OSIRE E3731i LED and OSP, automotive manufacturers can realise novel dynamic lighting effects in the car interior. Up to 1,000 LEDs can be connected in a daisy chain, controlled via one microcontroller.
Hermann Senninger, senior product manager of Ams Osram, said: ‘Dynamic lighting promises to add value to cars by combining changes in colour and brightness with pulsing, breathing or moving light effects, for decorative or functional purposes. The OSIRE E3731i and OSP enable dynamic interior lighting to be implemented with a simpler architecture, fewer components, less wiring and at lower system cost. These benefits are attracting customers already, and we expect to see the product deployed in production vehicles soon.’
Intelligence built in
The development of the new intelligent LED draws on the extensive capabilities of Ams Osram in optical technology and IC design and fabrication. The OSIRE E3731i is a high-performance RGB LED co-packaged with an IC that features three LED drivers, a serial bus interface supporting the OSP, a temperature sensor and on-chip memory.
Each intelligent RGB LED is characterised at the factory, and its optical performance data are stored in the LED’s on-chip memory. This makes it easier for automotive manufacturers to perform end-of-line calibration of interior lighting systems, and to achieve very high optical uniformity and consistency across arrays of hundreds of OSIRE E3731i LEDs.
The OSIRE E3731i is now qualified to the latest AEC-Q102 Annex 3 standard.
