Together with the automobile manufacturer Audi, HELLA has developed a striking lighting technology for the new Audi A7 Sportback. The headlamps of the four-door coupé are available as LED, Matrix LED and HD Matrix LED with laser high beam variants. The system uses a new control unit, which takes care of all lighting functions. Audi and HELLA have additionally developed a new interior lighting concept together.
The HELLA lighting technology already successfully serving the Audi A8 will also provide optimal road vision for the new Audi A7. The glare-free high beam function will for example allow eclipsing other road users from the light beam, thus avoiding glaring. Reliable communication between the front camera, sensors and headlamps is prerequisite for the HD Matrix LED with laser high beam. The HELLA control unit required for this task controls the headlamps and takes care of all functions, from low to high beams to wiping direction indicators and animations for welcoming and seeing off the driver. Only a single control unit is therefore necessary to control all functions.
Future-oriented control unit enables individual configurations
In the Audi A7, eight control unit channels are used for the LED headlamp variants. This means that all 32 light emitting diodes of the HD Matrix LED module can be controlled individually. It additionally emphasizes the daylight signature. In the A7, it consists of twelve light segments separated by narrow gaps. As soon as the driver unlocks the doors, the headlamps display a light choreography. The animation runs in reverse order after the trip and when locking the vehicle door. The wiping direction indicators are also controlled via the control unit.
The control unit meets the latest standards in functional safety. For example, it automatically takes into account headlamp leveling for optimally adjusting the headlamp levels, thus avoiding any glaring of other road users. It is also equipped with a “fail safe” mode. This ensures a fail-safe system, such that sufficient light remains on the road for the driver in the event of an error.
Customizable interior lighting concept creates pleasant atmosphere
HELLA did not only develop the headlamp variants and their intelligent control jointly with Audi, but also the interior lighting concept. With the optional ambient lighting package, light guides in the dashboard, in the side paneling in the doors, and in the door light ensure a pleasant atmosphere in the Audi A7 Sportback. The multicolored shaped ambient lighting package extends the lighting concept even further. The quattro badge incorporated into a chrome trim inside the dashboard on the front passenger side is illuminated at night and therefore has an especially elegant effect. Together with Audi, HELLA uses a special production process with laser treatment to ensure that the chrome application can be screened. A further highlight: Additional light guides in the doors and in the center console provide additional lighting accents. The cover lenses inside the door trim panels and the center consoles are framed by chrome trims. This creates a particularly high-end appearance of the interior. For making this possible, HELLA engineers used a special injection molding process.
The RGB LED modules of the second generation, developed together with Audi and which enable the driver to adjust the colors to taste, form the heart of the shaped interior ambient lighting.
With an overhead control unit in the front vehicle area, the company additionally links its lighting and electronics expertise. The control unit comprises an SOS button and, depending on the vehicle equipment version, also the moonroof control, sensors for passenger compartment monitoring and a microphone. The integrated reading light is touch-free. In the vehicle rear, a reading light is installed in the ceiling center whose brightness can also be individually adjusted.
With its lighting and electronics products in the A7, HELLA offers even more products with great added customer value, thereby underlining its vision of actively shaping tomorrow’s mobility.
