Audi Q9 debuts the industry's first three-dimensionally curved digital OLED panel
Audi's new Q9 becomes the first production vehicle in the world with a three-dimensionally curved digital OLED rear-light panel, made possible by carrier glass just 0.1 millimeters thick.
- 0.1 millimeters
- up to 200 millimeters
- 512
- 25,600
What Happened
The new Audi Q9 marks the production debut of a technological world first: for the first time in the automotive industry, a three-dimensionally curved digital OLED panel is used in a vehicle. The Q9 is the first Audi model to use digital OLED panels in a curved design, made possible by ultra-thin glass technology: the carrier glass is just 0.1 millimeters thick, roughly the thickness of a human hair, which allows the panels to bend to a radius of up to 200 millimeters and follow the contours of the body. The curved panels are designed and validated to meet defined automotive requirements for durability, uniformity and contrast. Audi says the technology combines new design freedom with the hallmark OLED qualities it has refined over the past decade, and calls the Q9 a milestone in the development of Audi lighting technology.
0.1millimeters
Ultra-thin glass at this thickness enables a bend radius of up to 200 millimeters.
The three-dimensional design also brings functional benefits. By positioning the OLEDs in the outer areas of the rear lights, the light is visible even from wider lateral viewing angles, which Audi says contributes directly to road safety. The communication light, with warning symbols integrated into the rear-light signature, can give other road users additional visual warnings of accident and breakdown locations. At the front, the Q9 uses digital Matrix LED headlights with the latest micro-LED technology: a module approximately 13 millimeters wide holds 25,600 individual micro-LEDs, each about 40 micrometers in size, enabling high-resolution light images to be projected at night. The light-guidance functions include lane lighting with orientation lighting, orientation lighting on rural roads, and lane lighting with turn-signal projection on highways; in narrow construction zones the system can automatically adjust the light distribution and switch off lane lighting in favor of orientation lighting to facilitate lane centering. These assistance functions are available only within the system's limits and support the driver.
Audi TT RS: Audi becomes the first automaker in the world to introduce OLEDs as a production rear-light technology, with uniform surface light sources and dynamic lighting scenarios.
Audi Q5 (and A8): first-generation digital OLED technology makes it possible for the first time to control individual segments and personalize the rear-light signature.
Audi Q6 e-tron, A5, A6, A6 e-tron and Q5 model lines: second-generation digital OLED raises the number of individually controllable segments tenfold and adds safety functions such as warning symbols and the proximity-indication function.
Audi Q9 and Q7 model lines: third-generation digital OLED arrives, and the Q9 adds the world's first curved digital OLED design.
- 99 segments
- 84 segments
- 73 segments
- 512 digital segments distributed across six panels
- Up to eight digital light signatures available at the front and rear
- Signatures can be static, fully active or, for the first time, semi-active, producing three-dimensional effects
- Advanced turn signal, first introduced on the Audi Q7, projects a stylized dynamic turn signal onto the road when turning or changing lanes at night
- Communication light with integrated warning symbols warns other road users of critical situations such as breakdowns, emergency braking or accident locations
- Rear lights evolve into intelligent exterior displays, working together with the digital Matrix LED headlights
“At Audi, light means safety first and foremost—seeing and being seen. Digitalization opens up entirely new possibilities for further enhancing road safety. The curved digital OLED technology in the Audi Q9 impressively demonstrates this technology's potential. It combines design freedom, personalization, and communication with the vehicle's surroundings at a new level. Our vision is to gradually transform light into an intelligent means of communication that makes interaction between the vehicle and its surroundings even safer and more intuitive.”
Why this matters
Audi frames light as safety first: warning symbols in the rear lights and better lateral visibility are meant to alert other road users to breakdowns, emergency braking and accident sites. Drivers gain personalisation with up to eight light signatures at the front and rear, while pedestrians, cyclists and other traffic are the intended beneficiaries of the communication light and the projected turn signal.
Terms in This Story
- OLED
- Organic light-emitting diode: a semiconductor light source made of stacked layers of organic molecules that emit light when a voltage is applied, instead of using the crystal lattice of a conventional LED.
- Digital OLED
- An OLED light source split into many individually controllable segments that are connected to the vehicle's electrical-system control unit via a bus system, allowing different light functions and signatures to be shown.
- Micro-LED
- A very small light-emitting diode; large arrays of them in a module can project high-resolution light images.
- Bend radius
- The radius to which a material can be curved without being damaged.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.