Lighting technology is evolving at a rapid pace. From initial development, to its actual use, the lighting industry is constantly progressing. One only has to consider the impact LEDs have had in such applications as automotive lighting and traffic signals to see how far lighting has evolved.

In addition to new technologies, the lighting industry is constantly striving to better understand how consumers react to it. Organizations such as University of Michigan Traffic Research (UMTRI) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are leading the way in studying how lighting makes environments safer, easier and more efficient.

Another driving force behind lighting research is the need to reduce the amount of energy lighting uses. The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) is one of the many organizations researching these solutions.

Each year, the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) publishes numerous papers on automotive lighting products.

Some interesting SAE publications include:

• COLL-TP-00007 Automotive Lighting Technology & Human Factors in Driver Vision and Lighting (2010)
• COLL-TP-00053 Lighting Technology & Human Factors (2005)
• P91393 AWIM Skimmer Design Challenge
• SP-1668 Advanced Lighting Technology for Vehicles (2002)
• SP-1787 Lighting Technology
• SP-1875 Lighting Technology (2004)
• SP-1932 Lighting Technology & Human Factors (2005)
• SP-1993 Automotive Lighting Technologies & Human Factors (2006)
• SP-2149 Automotive Lighting Technologies (2008)
• SP-2223 Automotive Lighting Technologies (2009)
• SP-2266 Automotive Lighting Technologies (2010)

ISAL - Symposium on Automotive Lighting

Formerly Progress in Automotive Lighting (PAL), this organization has meetings every two years to discuss the latest technological advances and research in human behavior.