Customisable tail light
Light is always the first focus of safety at Volkswagen. But light also distinctively highlights the specific design of a car. In the future, Volkswagen drivers will be able to individually tailor the lighting design of their cars themselves with a customisable tail light signature. This will be possible simply with an app on your smartphone or via the car’s infotainment system. Volkswagen demonstrates how this works with the example of the new Touareg. Here, the lighting engineers have integrated the prototype of the new, customisable tail light.
One tail light, three signatures
The owner can choose between three different signatures at once via the Infotainment system, driving mode or a smartphone. In all three cases, the narrow, surrounding light signature of the tail light is always identical. It already complies fully with legal requirements and thus makes space in the inner area for individualisation. As a basic theme, the so-called LED wings are changed.
The customisable signature tail light picks up on the worldwide trend of increased personalisation of vehicles using electronics, thereby tailoring them to personal tastes. In the area of lighting, this trend began with customisable background lighting in the interior. From this, Volkswagen developed the idea of a customisable tail light and thus a new design feature. But while a wide range of lighting functions is allowed in the interior, the exterior light must comply with all legal requirements as outlined. For this reason, Volkswagen first realised the three signature lights shown in the prototype. Nevertheless, it is conceivable that after the market launch various other light signatures can be released individually as ‘functions on demand’ at a later date. It will also be possible to link the signature to the respective driving mode – in the case of the Touareg, for example, as a "Comfort", "Sport" or "Offroad" selection. The fact is that light graphics will be an individualisation feature in the future – they will change from a static functional element to an interactive safety and design feature.