Atomic Black

Over the past few years, more and more vehicles are starting to offer ambient lighting as a standard or optional feature. Ambient lighting is the soft illumination around the center console, door handles and pulls, cupholders and sometimes completely across the dash and in the footwells. 

Typically, ambient lighting is seen as a purely cosmetic feature, but it may also increase a driver’s perceived safety and quality of the car, according to a new study conducted by BMW and the Lighting Engineering Group at Ilmenau University of Technology in Germany. 

Ambient lighting increases spatial perception, making the vehicle’s interior feel bigger at night, the study says. The lights may also decrease fatigue when driving at night, but the study had inconclusive evidence regarding ambient lighting’s effect on “alertness” or the ability to improve a driver’s mood or performance.

Moreover, drivers thought ambient lighting increased the perceived quality of materials and design. They also found controls easier to use. 

Brightness of the ambient lighting system was a critical factor in the study. If the lights were too bright, drivers started to find the system distracting. Keeping illumination below 0.1 candelas per square meter will keep glares from forming on the plastics of the interior, which will reduce the possibility of distraction, previous studies have shown. In general, drivers want to be able to control the illumination levels, the study says. 

The color used was reportedly not important in affecting the driver’s emotional state, but it was important in forming brand-specific identities. 

Most automakers are taking the bait with GMC using a red lighting system, Chevrolet and Buick blue, BMW orange, Saab green and Mercedes yellow. Ford offers an ambient lighting system that lets you can choose from seven different colors, which isn’t great for brand marketing, but great for personal expression. 

Ambient Lighting Makes Drivers Feel Safer (Autopia)