Ever sat in traffic to the point that the sky has grown darker while you've been stewing in your vehicle and you're thoroughly frustrated by the time you finally get home?
Ford lighting designers and engineers say this irritable mental state is partly due to poor automotive lighting and how drivers psychologically cope.
Well, Ford has incorporated human psychology to form its new Crystal Diamond Light system, which disperses broad, even lighting that the automaker claims can help reduce irritability.
"We know that gradients and homogeneity affect people's moods," Arun Kumar, Ford optics expert and design engineer, said in the company's press release statement for the announcement of the advanced lighting system. "We also know the eye wants to focus on contrast changes and other inconsistencies in lighting — it's an automatic function of the brain that can irritate mood."
The LED lighting innovation also improves efficiency by up to 62 percent, while lowering cost. The Crystal Diamond Light system has already debuted on the Ford F-150 pickup and is slated to be adopted by the automaker's other models, beginning with the new Fusion.
"The efficiency of this lighting not only helps to stabilize the psyche, but also has the potential to affect global environmental savings," Kumar continued. "As we democratize this lighting innovation to a broader audience, the impact could be significant, with millions of gallons of fuel potentially saved on a global scale."
Ford's interactions and ergonomics core engineer, Shannon O'Day, says the Crystal Diamond Light system also effectively addresses people with color deficiencies.
"You can't use a deep saturated red or green for dash lighting because those are colors people most typically have problems with," O'Day said in the company's press release. "Eight percent of the global population has this issue, and most are male."
O'Day added: "Color is one among many factors that make lighting functional and pleasing. In the end, it's really about the eye, what it perceives, and how it affects the driver."
If this lighting system becomes widespread with other automakers and really does help reduce irritability, would you be interested in having it installed in your vehicle?
