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• Biggest automotive light tunnel in Europe
• Test facility for high beam and new lighting assistance systems
• Prof. Dr. Hackenberg: “Light is a medium of information”
Audi is extending its lead in the field of automotive lighting technology with a new lighting competence center at the company’s site in Ingolstadt. Vehicles can be driven into this underground light tunnel, which is 120 meters long and offers new possibilities, especially for the development of innovative lighting solutions and camera-based lighting assistance systems.
“Audi is the leading brand for automotive lighting technology,” stated Prof.nbsp;Dr.nbsp;Ulrichnbsp;Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Technicalnbsp;Development. “From the xenonnbsp;plusnbsp;headlight to the matrix‑LEDnbsp;headlight to the lasernbsp;light, we have been putting pioneering innovations into series production for the past 20nbsp;years. Light is part of an automobile’s esthetics and is becoming an interactive medium of information.”
The new lightingnbsp;competencenbsp;center at the corporate headquarters of the Audinbsp;Group is the biggest lighting tunnel for vehicles in Europe. Inside the matt‑black‑painted tunnel, the development engineers test systems such as adaptive high beam and camera‑based lightingnbsp;assistancenbsp;systems. Such systems avoid dazzling drivers of oncoming traffic and enhance safety.
The lightingnbsp;competencenbsp;center and the laser lab under an eleven‑floor building presented a great challenge for the civil engineers because it had to do without supporting columns and required an interior height of up to ninenbsp;meters. The floor surface is similar to a normal road. The Audinbsp;engineers there cooperate closely with the designers so that new ideas can be put onto the road even faster. Their motorsport‑colleagues also often deliver valuable stimulus from the world’s toughest test bench: the racetrack.