Little-known tech company aims to change how you look at car windows

Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press

Your next car’s windows could have a lot of new things to show you — from streaming movies to highlighting points of interest you drive by — if a little-known tech company aiming to expand its presence in Detroit has its way.

Micro LEDs are the key to creating a window that displays navigation and other information while remaining transparent.
Micro LEDs are the key to creating a window that displays navigation and other information while remaining transparent.

Taiwanese supplier AUO brought a concept car to demonstrate features made possible by its advanced glass. AUO also plans to add production in the United States or Mexico, expanding beyond its current manufacturing operations in Taiwan and China.

You can see AUO's handiwork in the new 2024 Lincoln Nautilus' 48-inch wide dashboard display. The widest display on any vehicle sold in North America, the configurable, high-definition display is a major selling point for the new luxury SUV.

The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus SUV has a 48-inch display.
The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus SUV has a 48-inch display.

Micro LEDs — much smaller and brighter than current LEDs — figure prominently in AUO’s plans, product marketing director Ivan Tang told me in a suburban Detroit warehouse while potential customers filed past to inspect the company’s latest products.

The big deal about little LEDs

Supplier AUO built a concept car to demonstrate new features at the CES tech show.
Supplier AUO built a concept car to demonstrate new features at the CES tech show.

The little LEDs are about to be a big deal in consumer products, he said. Expect to see them in phones, TVs and wearable devices.

In vehicles, micro LEDs can be embedded in a panel of glass, preserving its transparency while also displaying anything from infotainment to advanced driver assistance systems.

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“The LEDs are so bright and so small we can have open spaces between them, so the glass remains transparent,” Tang said. In addition to automotive applications, expect to see them in phones, TVs and wearable devices. They can also be used to mimic the appearance of wood or other appealing materials, while also concealing lights or touch points for controls.

AUO is developing lights that communicate vehicle status.
AUO is developing lights that communicate vehicle status.

If taillights could talk

AUO’s other new automotive products include:

  • “Dynamic smart door trim” — essentially door panels that can project light, colors even moving images.

  • Taillights that display messages — for instance, showing an electric vehicle’s charging status are also in the works.

  • Roll-up display screens that retract into a seat back when not displaying movies or games for passengers.

AUO supplies screens for everything from laptops to televisions. It’s already a major auto supplier, with parts on up to 20% of vehicles in production around the world, but it aims to move up the value chain with Michigan-based designers getting involved early in vehicle development.

Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Little-known tech company aims to change how you look at car windows

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