Audi A8 tests the new Digital Matrix LED lighting

The updated Audi A8 is the brand’s first model to be available with a fully digital exterior lighting system, combining Digital Matrix LED technology for the headlamps with digital OLED rear lights.

From summer 2022, three further functions using this technology will become available, as outlined by Stephan Berlitz, Audi’s head of lighting development: “advanced traffic information; a carriageway illuminated with direction indicators on motorways; and a guidance light on secondary roads”.

Those were precisely the three new features we tested at night in Ingolstadt, Audi’s headquarters north of Munich, where the company’s engineers also discussed what lies ahead.

A brief history of Audi digital lighting

Audi’s digital lighting represents another technological leap in illumination, an area that has developed alongside the motor car from its earliest days.

The first “motorised carriages” did not even have headlamps. When they arrived, towards the end of the 19th century, they were simply oil-powered points of light, requiring the driver to open a dome, turn on the acetylene supply valve and strike a match.

The first incandescent electric lamps appeared shortly before 1920, while Hella delivered the next major advance with the introduction of halogen headlamps. “After that, we can see that the pace of development accelerated, as it did in every industry,” Berlitz explains.

The timeline supports that view: Audi introduced its first twin-headlamp applications in 1972, its first xenon headlamps in 1994, Full LED lamps (Light Emitting Diodes) in 2008, Matrix headlamps in 2013 and Laser technology the following year. OLED (Organic LED) rear lights followed in 2016, while digital lighting (Digital Matrix LED) made its debut in the updated Audi A8 in 2021.

Cesar Muntada, a Catalan designer who has lived in Germany for decades and is responsible for the system’s design, tells me that “in the first Matrix HD systems (in the previous A8 and the Q8), it was only possible to darken a vertical segment of light. We then improved this in the next generation by doing it horizontally as well and, now, with Digital Matrix LED, it has become possible to do so at every point of light, without having to work in segments. It will also become possible to receive remote lighting-system updates (over the air) in the near future”.

Let there be light

After hearing about the lighting developments expected in cars over the coming years, covered later, I set off in an Audi A8 on a night-time route designed to reveal how much this technological progress improves visibility.

For the first few kilometres, I was somewhat frustrated: I could detect no difference in the intensity or reach of the light beams, let alone any new functions. A call to Audi’s specialists soon explained why: “we are still at dusk; you need to wait a few more minutes until it is dark enough”. Fair enough.

And that proved to be the case. Once properly on the motorway, the guidance light appeared: dark arrows projected beside what Audi calls the “light carpet”, visible on the road surface between the lane markings.

It is particularly useful when driving on a busy motorway or passing through roadworks - which Audi had kindly included on this test route - because it lets the driver concentrate on the tarmac directly ahead, where the illumination is focused.

Next came the second new function. When I activated the right-hand indicator, its flashing direction-change symbol was projected on to the tarmac, reinforcing the message the driver wishes to convey to other road users nearby.

The third new feature enables the driver to notice a hazard ahead more quickly, projecting an “other dangers” symbol on to the road. This means the person behind the wheel does not even have to look away from the tarmac to be alerted to the incident, although the warning may also appear in the instrument display or infotainment screen.

More Digital Matrix LED functions in the Audi A8

Beyond the functions now arriving in the A8, Audi’s flagship also offers the other capabilities of the Digital Matrix LED lighting system - an option costing around €1,900 - which are just as, if not more, impressive on secondary roads.

As well as helping to identify pedestrians close to the road in dark areas, the digital OLED rear lights - first introduced on the Audi TT RS - increase their brightness by illuminating every segment when they detect a vehicle, person or bicycle approaching the rear of the A8.

They can also display a graphic selected by the user through the infotainment system, effectively creating a digital signature.

Above all, the feeling of safety when driving at night is greatly enhanced by the genuine “bath of light” ahead of the A8, including the forward side sections. It also demonstrates the significantly improved ability to “mask” vehicles travelling in the opposite direction or in the same direction, without dazzling their drivers.

Indeed, while I was following an older car fitted with an outdated lighting system, I am sure its driver was surprised by the bright illumination ahead of their vehicle, which allowed them to see everything better - pedestrian crossings, road signs and so on. In reality, that intense and wide-reaching light was coming from the A8’s headlamps behind them, but was darkened around their car and their eyes.

The progress is clear, and it will translate into greater comfort, less fatigue and improved safety when driving at night.

When I ask Cesar Muntada to identify the main benefits of the new technology for users, he does not hesitate: “the illuminated areas are much larger than before and, because we are able to darken individual pixels, far more areas remain continuously lit even when dimming is taking place. On the other hand, the light-to-dark transitions are much faster and smoother. And for drivers of cars we meet, the dazzling effect is much lower”.

What to expect over the next few years

At a workshop intended to showcase work under way for the short and medium term, Audi highlighted the possibility of vehicle users spending time playing games projected on to the ground or a wall in front of the car.

The games will be operated using a personal mobile device in conjunction with the car’s front headlamps, which become video-game projectors.

Less playful, and more focused on safety, flexible OLED lights have a pliable substrate that allows them to take on three-dimensional structures. This makes their shapes more precise and also enables them to project illuminated pictograms into the outside world.

The outside world could also benefit from information about various hazards a few metres ahead, transmitted through signals displayed in the rear lights or rear window.

There is still a long way to go in this field of communication through digital lighting. Standardisation requirements and legal frameworks will need to be established so that messages can be understood quickly and effectively.

However, Muntada has no doubt that this will be the next major area of development in automotive lighting: “It all comes down to making the world a better place with light, using a human-centred approach that will inevitably have to be democratised because only then will it generate global benefits. It will be a difficult task, as it will involve many car manufacturers and legislators, so that pictograms and graphics become immediately recognisable and intuitive. People understand things differently depending on cultural nuances.”

A conversation with Stephan Berlitz, head of lighting systems development

Razão Automóvel (RA): During the night drive, some drivers coming towards me flashed their lights. Does that happen because the colour temperature of Digital Matrix LED (DML) is stronger than that of conventional LED?

Stephan Berlitz (SB): It may have happened because they noticed a different type of light or a larger illuminated area than usual in front of them, but I can assure you that DML brightness does not cause any dazzling.

RA: On several occasions, I tried to activate DML but could not because it was unavailable. Does whether the system is available depend on speed, the car’s location - if it is in an urban area, for example - or both?

SB: Both, in fact. The navigation system tells the DML system that you are passing through an urban area and therefore the system is switched off. A succession of traffic lights detected by the camera also tells the system that the vehicle is in an urban area. And below 50 km/h, many functions are not active either, although there is no upper speed limit.

RA: On faster roads, I saw the “light carpet” projected on the road ahead, as well as the strongly illuminated area extending intermittently. On secondary roads, however, there is no “light carpet” or flashing light effect. Instead, there are 2+2 arrows projected on to the road, reminiscent of augmented-reality arrows, but they seem subtle and hard to distinguish from the tarmac. Is that intentional, or can the user adjust their brightness?

SB: The arrows are very subtle because they are something that is constantly moving in front of the car. If they were brighter, their luminosity would disturb the driver. It is not a warning; it is an assistance light.

RA: At times, I felt the DML light was very intense when reflected by road signs, especially those with blue backgrounds, to the point that I felt dazzled…

SB: We have already reduced the light intensity by 30% when the system detects a road sign. If we reduce it any further, the camera or the driver - or both - may not see the sign. It should be considered that tonight’s test was carried out in very good weather conditions: clear skies, a full moon…

If it had been cloudy and/or rainy, you would probably have considered the lighting intensity appropriate. But I will admit you may be right: perhaps the reflection of light on road signs is still too strong, and it is something we will have to continue assessing.

RA: How will it be possible to bring this technology to more compact, less expensive cars? What limitations can be expected in terms of packaging and cost?

SB: That is the normal path for any new technology: it appears in the most expensive cars and is then passed down to lower market segments. We are already considering ways to reduce the equipment’s size in future generations, as well as some different functions for digital light, with many pixels, though not the millions of pixels we have in this system.

We do need to reduce its size, but the key functions will remain, such as the “light carpet” and guidance, which means we will use the overall electronic architecture.