Ambient Car Lighting Aids Driver Perceptions, Functions

(Courtesy, BMW Group)

Engineers at BMW in Munich, Germany and researchers from the Lighting Engineering Group at Ilmenau University of Technology in Ilmenau, Germany found ambient, rather than direct, lighting improved drivers’ perceptions of their cars’ interiors.

The study, published online today in the journal, Lighting Research and Technology, found that ambient lighting has several significant positive influences on space perception, interior attractiveness, perceived safety, functionality, and perceived interior quality. The results indicate that despite being out of the driver’s field of view, ambient lighting intensifies space perception, enhances the perceived quality of materials and design, helps drivers find controls, and with their orientation in the car, and makes them feel safer. The authors add that increasing the brightness of interior lighting does nothing to enhance impressions of the interior nor does it help the driver, but rather leads to driver complaints of discomfort or glare.

The research involved an experimental vehicle where 12 different ambient interior lighting scenarios were displayed to 31 people while driving in a simulation which created a visual environment similar to driving at night. After each experimental run the driver answered different questions on their perception of the vehicle interior under the different lighting scenarios.