Smart surface

ams OSRAM leading-edge illumination, sensing and control/driver solutions enable automotive smart surfaces with outstanding user experience and functional flexibility while reducing system cost and complexity.
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Smart surfaces – a revolution in the vehicle human-machine interface

Smart surfaces / functional surfaces / shytech surfaces

Nowadays, car manufacturers need to bring increasing functional complexity in the car interior to lean design, while at the same time allowing greater flexibility to enable over-the-air (OTA) updates of the so-called ‘smartphone on wheels.’ For that reason, display areas are expanding, while the user experience, complexity, cost and weight of interfaces based on physical buttons, knobs and rotary switches seem ever more outdated. However, displays are limited to certain surfaces. They suffer from reflections, do not allow freeform geometries, and the cost is not optimal for areas with a dedicated set of functions.
A new approach to human-machine interfaces, so-called smart surfaces, is revolutionizing interaction in middle console, center stack, overhead consoles or door panels and provides new interactive touch display or multi-touch surface solutions for automotive interiors. Shytech buttons and interactive, decorative backside illuminated animations can appear when the user looks at it or moves their hand nearby. Three-dimensional surfaces allow blind controllability when taking the eyes off the street would be too dangerous.

ams OSRAM offering

ams OSRAM offers a broad portfolio of solutions for smart surfaces from emitters to sensors and drivers. Our LEDs can be used for smart surfaces in automotive, eg. surface-integrated ambient lighting, light-guide applications or button backlighting. We offer optical sensors to create touch sensor buttons for smart surface solutions, for example for automated brightness control, but also non-optical sensors (inductive, magnetic, or capacitive) that can be used for example for the seamless integration of rotary-push buttons on smart surfaces. IR emitters and detectors are used for simple gestures and enable proximity sensing gesture technology for smart surfaces.

Smart surfaces
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Open System Protocol (OSP)

As ambient lighting and touch interfaces merge in the same surfaces, also a combination on system architecture level is possible.​

ams OSRAM supports this trend in the Open System protocol ecosystem with own components (like intelligent RGB modules). Also the integration of sensors or haptic feedback devices can be done using the stand alone intelligent driver (SAID)

Interested to be part of the Open System Protocol Ecosystem?