KYOCERA SLD Laser (KSLD) has introduced laser light engines that deliver dynamic white and infrared (IR) night vision illumination along with sensing and LiFi communication functionality for automotive applications. The new light engines will improve performance of automotive machine vision systems at night.

According to KSLD, until now, dual emission white/IR sources have not been possible because LEDs and legacy lamp-based light sources are unable to deliver high brightness white and IR emission from the same point source, and they are incapable of being modulated at the high speeds required for accurate sensing and fast data rates.

The new LaserLight engines feature dual white/IR emission to fuse multiple functionalities including dynamic white lighting and infrared night vision illumination that can be combined with sensing and LiFi communications. The high brightness collimated white light provides 1 km beam distance while independently delivering IR illumination for night vision cameras to enable maximum machine vision visibility and safety.

The illumination pattern of KSLD’s LaserLight engines can be electronically adjusted on-demand for efficient and high precision dynamic beam shaping. In sensing and imaging, the fast temporal response of KSLD’s LaserLight enables high-resolution ranging at distances over 250 meters for automotive ADAS systems as well as consumer rangefinding applications. Beyond single-point depth sensing, the LaserLight engines can be combined with imaging sensors to support full 3D LiDAR systems.

To support the future of wireless connectivity, the LaserLight engines deliver high-speed RF-free LiFi communication with data rates exceeding 1 gigabit per second for mobility applications including car-to-x exterior, vehicle interiors, aeroplane cabins, as well as future smart cities, healthcare, secure facilities, and smart factories. By providing both white and IR from the same source and combining dynamic lighting, accurate sensing, and high speed communication, KSLD’s LaserLight engines enable customers to commercialise potent intelligent illumination systems. These LaserLight engines can be configured for customer specific applications and have potential to be performance optimised using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

KSLD will demonstrate these new laser light engines as CES 2022, where they will also demonstrate optical power transmission over fibre using the company’s GaN laser and photocell semiconductor chip technology.

According to KSLD, optical power transmission has the potential to replace heavy and sensitive metal wire harnesses in mobility applications with a lightweight, noise-free optical solution, increasing efficiency and extending the range of electric vehicles and aeroplanes. This power-over-light solution can be configured to include optical data communications to deliver data and power to sensors in a distributed system such as a vehicle.