Audi has opened a new light assistance centre at its Ingolstadt operations. This navigable underground light tunnel is 120 metres long and offers new opportunities for for developing innovative lighting solutions and camera-based assistance systems.

"Audi is the leading brand of automotive lighting technology," said Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Board for Technical Development. "Of the xenon plus headlights, LED headlights matrix to laser light, we have brought in 20 years’ of pioneering innovations in series. Light is part of the automotive aesthetics and becomes an interactive information medium. "

The new light assistance centre at the headquarters of Audi Group is the largest navigable light tunnel in Europe. The matt black tunnel will see the developers test systems such as adaptive high-beam light and camera-based assistance systems. Such systems reduce glare for oncoming traffic and increase safety.

The light assistance centre and the laser laboratory at an 11-storey building presented a major challenge for the structural engineers because it was without disturbing columns and required a ceiling height of up to nine metres. It is equipped with road-like flooring.