Recently, the global lighting and technology leader Osram and Japan’s Otaru announced that they will release a series of standardized LED lights. This series of signal products is based on the original series of interchangeable LED signal lights (XLS) products and is UN/ECE (R128) compliant. With this range of LED beacons, all important semaphore applications installed on the vehicle can be managed through a unified platform with three different lighting versions, enabling new breakthroughs in the industry. This innovative technology enables simple replacement of parts, helps automakers reduce production difficulty and overall cost, and accelerates the development process by properly adjusting their standards. Since the summer of 2018, OSRAM’s LY5 and LW5 XLS luminaires have been installed for the new Toyota Corolla series.
LED technology gives the car and its lighting designers and manufacturers tremendous flexibility. Many customs LED lighting solutions have been available in the past few years, but this has made the current supply chain extremely complex. To solve this situation, OSRAM has developed an innovative standardized LED light source for signaling applications in the automotive industry.
According to Hans Joachim Schwabe, CEO of OSRAM Special Lighting Division, “Based on its proven XLS range, OSRAM has launched a new product portfolio that not only enables all the innovative benefits of LED technology but also significantly reduces the entire customer value chain. The complexity.”
A unified platform for all LED signal sources
The new range of ECE standardized light sources from OSRAM can now be used in yellow and white to represent different signal applications such as turn signals, backup lights and daytime running lights (DRL). In addition, a white variant with different standards and specifications for fog lamps will be launched at the end of the year. The fourth red variant will also be available soon. Standardization of this range of products makes it easier to replace parts: just replace the light source to achieve different results, which also eliminates the cost of replacing the entire lamp or headlight.
The rugged design ensures long life and safety. Since the LED takes up less space, it is possible to promote the miniaturization of electronic, optical, and mechanical parts. The small illuminating area and associated protection of XLS products also protect them from electrostatic discharge, transients, and overvoltages.
Innovative replaceable luminaires set new standards
The XLS product line offers a wide range of advantages for consumers, headlamp manufacturers and car manufacturers. The unified standardized signal light platform reduces the number of lighting solutions in the car, which greatly reduces the total cost of the car manufacturer in many areas such as supply chain, development and quality control. Reuse of design modules and the same platform also significantly reduces the time and effort required for development. For car manufacturers and car owners, a standardized platform means that the light source can be replaced more easily, reducing maintenance and further reducing costs.
This series of lamps were put into mass production in Herbrechtingen, Germany, which not only guarantees high-end quality, but also an important milestone for OSRAM to shift the focus of the plant to semiconductor-based lighting solutions. Thanks to the car experience of the factory for many years, XLS products have achieved seamless production. The shorter design cycle and lower system complexity make the XLS product line one of the pioneers in LED technology for high-volume vehicles.
Since the summer of 2018, the XLS product line will be on the streets of Japan with the new Toyota Corolla sports version. Other models are planned to be available by the end of 2018. OSRAM is currently working to expand its XLS product portfolio.