LG Innotek unveils 3 mm curved vehicle light prototype

Even when light needs to follow the curves of a vehicle’s front grille or bumper, conventional lighting has had to accommodate thick lenses, reflectors and empty space for the light to spread. LG Innotek’s vehicle Nexlide flexible lighting module reduces this structure and has been presented as a prototype with a thickness of around 3 mm.

LG Innotek designed the lighting components as an integrated unit using micro-optical patterns and polymer optical materials. In particular, the white silicone optical reflector developed independently by the company spreads light evenly without a separate plastic lens. As a result, the company said, module thickness has been reduced by 71% compared with existing products, while optical efficiency has improved by 30%.

The flexibility of silicone also affects design and safety. LG Innotek said Nexlide can be mounted to match highly curved front grilles, bumpers and character lines on the vehicle body, while reducing the risk of secondary injuries caused by fragments in a pedestrian collision. The company said the product lineup includes front- and rear-facing versions as well as ultra-slim models, offering optical performance suitable for daytime running lights and rear combination lamps.

The most notable product is Nexlide Pixel. By reducing pixel size to around one-quarter of the existing size, it can display not only lines and shapes but also high-resolution text and animation. This light could become more than a simple lighting device: it could serve as a V2X interface through which vehicles and surrounding objects exchange information. The system would visually communicate driving status, emergency situations and pedestrian-yield signals outside the vehicle.

What changes, then, is the car’s appearance and the way it communicates. Automakers could incorporate thinner, curved lighting into vehicle designs, while drivers and pedestrians could potentially see a vehicle’s status or intention to yield through text and light. However, the materials currently available are based on pixel samples and concept-car images, and no independent validation of production-vehicle applications or performance in road environments has been presented.