Technologies like face recognition, eye tracking, and gesture control that were first developed for mobile devices, as well as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), are progressively finding their way into the car industry. Infrared light is the foundation of these technologies. It is simpler to include necessary components into intricate designs if they are more compact and potent. An very small infrared LED (IRED) with a lot of power in a tiny box is now available from Osram's Oslon Piccolo, which is perfect for consumers.
Cars will increasingly be outfitted with features to improve the intuitiveness of occupant-vehicle interaction as autonomous driving takes the lead. The interior design of an autonomous car will be radically different from that of existing vehicles. Drivers may now navigate with voice assistants and operate basic functions using gesture control with different user interfaces in place of the traditional dashboard.
Additionally, gesture detection led to the development of whole new display use methods. For instance, the car shows a map with the appropriate path as it is travelling to a location. Different menu elements for controlling the display are often shown uniformly around the image's boundaries, which takes up area that might be used to display the map. The route appears full screen thanks to gesture detection, which only displays menu options when the driver extends his hand towards the screen.
"When combined with indoor displays, the benefits of the Oslon Piccolo truly shine," says Walter Rothmund, Osram Opto Semiconductors' Marketing Manager for Sensing. "The IRED is incredibly small, measuring only 1.6 x 1.6 mm and having a package height of just 0.81 mm, making it easy to install in a small space." The component may be used as a continuous light source for camera-based applications or for 3D image acquisition using modulated or rapid pulsed light due to its DC power of 1.15 W at 1 A and very quick switching speeds of 10 ns. There are two wavelengths available for the automotive-qualified component: 850 nm and 940 nm.
