A seamless operating experience in the interior

Interior lighting has experienced rapid development within just a few years. Today, sophisticated LED technology enables the display of countless colors, and thanks to intelligent microcontrollers in the background, the highest color accuracy can be guaranteed - regardless of external factors and over the entire service life of the vehicle. Especially in the premium segment, automobile manufacturers can offer their customers fascinating lighting scenarios in the interior thanks to this technology.
However, light in the interior is no longer just ambient lighting. Individual functions and even communication between vehicle and person can also be visually displayed thanks to precise lighting technology. Warnings can also be highlighted with targeted lighting accents.

Lighting and touch controls under hard and soft surfaces
The DRÄXLMAIER Group is now going one step further: In the “Seamless Touch” concept, the automotive supplier not only integrates LED technology directly into the respective interior component. Touch operation is also implemented in the same position. This means that the light is directly linked to an operating function.

This concept is implemented in two innovations: “Black Panel Touch” integrates illuminated operation under a hard surface, while the FIS (Function Integrated System) armrest integrates the operation of a screen under a soft surface.

FIS armrest anticipates autonomous driving
In the innovation of the FIS armrest, a semi-transparent sensor film is attached below the surface. There are LEDs and light guides behind the film, which ensure the desired lighting scenario. A functional PET film is attached to the back of the carrier in the clean room and has conductor tracks printed on it. All controls are only displayed via the LEDs, physical buttons or similar are no longer required. The surface can consist of a wide variety of shear-soft materials such as fabrics, leather, artificial leather or a foamed material.

The implementation in an armrest is an example of a wide range of possible applications in the interior. This allows, for example, the control of a monitor to be elegantly and seamlessly integrated into the armrest without the need for annoying buttons. This means that automobile manufacturers not only have maximum design freedom, but also save weight and installation space. Last but not least, the FIS armrest anticipates autonomous driving. Thanks to the integration of controls into the armrest, the driver of a vehicle could operate the monitor even if they have taken a relaxing position in their seat.

Micro-perforations in shear-soft surfaces for maximum design freedom
DRÄXLMAIER combines this innovation with micro-perforated surfaces. The smallest perforations in the material, which are almost invisible in daylight, are illuminated using LEDs, allowing all imaginable patterns, lines, lettering or logos to be displayed. The perforations are created precisely using a laser and are then sealed with a translucent material. “In addition to purely aesthetic applications, such as the display of patterns, logos or brand names, all conceivable operating elements can also be drawn into fabrics or leather via micro-perforation and made visible via LEDs,” explains Marco Reis, responsible for interior advance development at DRÄXLMAIER.

In order to achieve the greatest possible user-friendliness, all innovations of the “Seamless Touch” concept are usually equipped with force sensors. This prevents unwanted operation by the user, as an accidental fleeting touch of the sensor is not enough to trigger an operating command.

Illuminated controls instead of physical buttons
For the “Black Panel Touch” innovation, i.e. for implementation behind hard surfaces, a semi-transparent film is attached to a plastic carrier. There are also LEDs and light guides behind them, which ensure the desired lighting scenario. A PET film attached to the back with printed sensor structures for switching elements and “sliders” enables the switches to be operated. The switches can be found using optical elements. The evaluation electronics working in the background of the black panel and the microcontroller of the LEDs can be programmed so that the controls only appear when approached and visually display a swipe or tap gesture when touched.

A new dimension of interior lighting
“With Seamless Touch we are taking the possible applications of light in the interior to a new level. “We are abandoning the classic character that is used for ambient lighting or warning occupants in dangerous situations and introducing a further dimension of light in the form of an interactive and visually appealing control element,” says Jan Reblin, CEO and CTO of the automotive supplier. Thanks to the integration, which can take place under both hard and soft surfaces, “Seamless Touch” will also be able to be used practically anywhere in the interior. In the future, the entire operating logic in the vehicle can be implemented using a single innovation. This means that countless switches, buttons, controls and other physical controls and thus weight and installation space can be saved - while at the same time offering the greatest possible design freedom, as the design of the controls can take on any imaginable appearance.