Exterior lighting & projection DMDs
Enable safer driving and advanced V2X communication with precision DLP® technology for exterior lighting
Texas Instruments DLP technology is automotive-qualified to deliver superior color, brightness and contrast for a wide range of exterior lighting applications. With scalable platforms and reliable performance from –40°C to 105°C, the DLP automotive portfolio supports diverse brightness and resolution needs for both light control and information display around the vehicle. As cars become more connected and intelligent, DLP technology enables advanced vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, allowing vehicles to exchange critical information with their surroundings. Our skilled ecosystem partners can accelerate your designs with off the shelf prototypes for both dynamic ground projection and high resolution headlight, helping you to create innovative exterior lighting systems that enhance safety, convenience and communication on the road.
Why Choose TI DLP® Automotive products for exterior lighting
A projection solution for every application
Performance leader in resolution, brightness, efficiency and contrast helping automotive designers make their automotive display dreams reality by enabling the vehicle to communicate information.
Simplifying projection technology
TI DLP® technology’s broad ecosystem, intuitive software tools and EVMs help accelerate designs and time-to-market.
Trusted technology by the automotive industry
DLP products have been shipping in the automotive industry since 2017 and has been fully qualified to meet the stringent operating and reliability requirements of the automotive market.
Technical resources
DLP Labs video series: headlight
DLP Labs video series: dynamic ground projection
Dynamic Ground Projection using DLP® Technology for Automotive Exterior Lighting
Discover featured applications
DLP technology enables dynamic content to be displayed anywhere around the vehicle
Vehicles are now able to communicate with road users in ways that have never before been possible. Small exterior lights designed with DLP® technology can project vehicle information and intent, pedestrian alerts and styling features 360° around the car via full color video and images.
Advantages of DGP with DLP technology:
- Enable multiple functions from a single compact, low-cost module including styling and communication
- Programmable content can adapt over time to enable new use cases
- Efficient optical designs conserve power to enable larger projection areas for immersive experiences
Featured resources
- DLP2021-Q1 – Automotive 0.2-inch DLP® digital micromirror device (DMD)
- DLP3021-Q1 – DLP® automotive 0.3-inch digital micromirror device (DMD)
- DLPC120-Q1 – Automotive DLP® digital micromirror device controller for DLP3030-Q1 chipset
- DLP2021LEQ1EVM – DLP2021-Q1 evaluation module for dynamic ground projector
- DLP3021LEQ1EVM – DLP3021-Q1 dynamic ground projector evaluation module
- Dynamic Ground Projection Application Requirements – Application note
- Dynamic Ground Projection using DLP® Technology for Automotive Exterior Lighting – White paper
With up to 1.3 million pixels, DLP technology enables headlights to maximize light on the road and display crisp symbols
Automobile headlights are now able to project patterns in front of the car which maximize light output while minimizing glare to other drivers. DLP® technology enables headlights with more than one million addressable pixels to maximize light on the road and enable crisp symbols to help communicate with the driver.
Advantages of high resolution highlight with DLP technology include:
- Support adaptive driving beam and symbols projection for driver communication
- Enable sophisticated welcome scenarios, branding and personalization of vehicles
- Maximize light projected on the road while reducing glare
Featured resources
- DLP5533A-Q1 – DLP® automotive 0.55-inch digital micromirror device (DMD)
- DLPC230-Q1 – DLP® automotive digital micromirror device (DMD) controller for DLP553x-Q1 chipset
- TPS99001-Q1 – DLP® system management & illumination controller for automotive exterior lighting
- DLP5531LEQ1EVM – DLP5531-Q1 light engine evaluation module
- DLP5531Q1EVM – DLP® automotive high resolution headlight electronics evaluation module
- Improving Visibility with DLP® Headlights – White paper
DLP technology can be used to equip vehicles with symbol projectors not tied to a specific mounting location in the car
DLP® technology supports dedicated front symbol projection modules, enabling a vehicle to display clear symbols, lane markings and welcome patterns without requiring ADAS infrastructure for generating adaptive driving beam patterns.
Advantages of symbol projection with DLP technology include:
- Projection of crisp symbols on the road for driver communications
- Enable sophisticated welcome scenarios, branding and personalization of vehicles
- Integration flexibility to support the latest styling trends
Featured resources
- DLP5533A-Q1 – DLP® automotive 0.55-inch digital micromirror device (DMD)
- DLPC230-Q1 – DLP® automotive digital micromirror device (DMD) controller for DLP553x-Q1 chipset
- TPS99001-Q1 – DLP® system management & illumination controller for automotive exterior lighting
- DLP5531LEQ1EVM – DLP5531-Q1 light engine evaluation module
- DLP5531Q1EVM – DLP® automotive high resolution headlight electronics evaluation module
- What headlight resolution is high enough for symbol projection? – Technical article
- How semiconductor technologies are changing automotive lighting roadmaps – Technical article
Design & development resources
Automotive optical module selection tool
Dynamic ground projection brightness estimation calculator
This Excel calculator provides a starting point for estimating the brightness of a dynamic ground projection animation, logo, or symbol using the DLP3021-Q1 digital micromirror device (DMD). This calculator takes general ambient conditions such as road lighting, road surface type, and image size. (...)
DLP2021-Q1 evaluation module for dynamic ground projector
The DLP® products DLP2021LEQ1EVM evaluation module (EVM) is a complete electronic and optical system enabling accelerated evaluation of the DLP2021-Q1 chipset. The DLP2021-Q1 digital micromirror device (DMD) interfaces with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based DMD controller to enable a (...)