Ams Osram signs partner for intelligent LEDs in car interiors

Ams Osram continues reeling from the reversal in what was to be its micro LED future, which is all the more reason why it is aggressively pursuing what has been an upbeat market: automotive LEDs. In its latest move, it has partnered with a Malaysian LED outfit on intelligent interior lighting.

Premstaetten, Austria–based ams Osram said that it is working with Dominant Opto Technologies to help Dominant integrate technology that supports connectivity between RGB LEDs, sensors, and microcontrollers in automotive interiors.

The technology, which ams Osram calls Open System Protocol (OSP), enables dynamically changing ambient lighting, brightness, colors, and scenarios.

Dominant would become a second source of LEDs based on OSP, with the first provider being ams Osram following the introduction last summer of its Osire E3731i chip.

“This major step facilitates a more resilient supply chain for automotive manufacturers, allowing them to source ambient lighting LEDs and components from various vendors without reconfiguring system communication when switching suppliers,” an ams Osram spokesperson said.

“Recognizing the industry's need for multiple sourcing options, OSP facilitates easy and cost-efficient communication within LED chains, enabling car manufacturers to choose from various vendors without redesigning architectures,” she added.

With the protocol available on a license-free basis, ams Osram encouraged “additional partners to join and contribute to fostering innovation and compatibility within the automotive lighting community.”

As there is no licensing arrangement between ams Osram and Dominant, it is not clear what the business relationship is between them.

Ams Osram suffered a body blow recently when the one customer it had been relying on for micro LEDs — an important future product category for the company — backed out of a deal that would have ensured a solid revenue stream starting in 2025 or 2026. The customer is believed to be Apple, which was going to use the micro LEDs in smart watches.

That development prompted ams Osram to plan a write-down of what could be $1 billion, and to reconsider its micro LED intentions. It threw into question the future of the company’s Kulim, Malaysia micro LED factory, into which ams Osram has sunk massive capital expenditures.

French market research firm Yole Group believes that ams Osram will slash micro LED production plans, and that it will make the products in Regensburg, Germany rather than at the costly Kulim plant.

Yole sees a general market for micro LEDs in augmented reality, transparent displays, stretchables, and in some automotive applications, among others. (Simply put, micro LEDs are very small LEDs.) But in other product areas like TVs, smartphones, and smart watches (such as those made by Apple on which ams Osram was said to be relying), yet another technology — OLED — is the likely winner, Yole believes.

When ams Osram announced its stunning micro LED reversal, it downplayed the long-term revenue impact in part because, it said, automotive LED sales are strengthening. Its announcement with Dominant underscores that outlook.

Dominant is based in Melaka, Malaysia, about 300 miles south of ams Osram’s Kulim plant.

MARK HALPER is a contributing editor for LEDs Magazine, and an energy, technology, and business journalist ([email protected]).

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