Denso invests ¥30 billion ($270 million) in JOLED, a developer of printed organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays.
The investment accelerates JOLED’s development and mass production of in-vehicle OLED displays, which are used for human-machine interfaces in automobile cockpits to deliver key information to the driver quickly and accurately, Denso says in a news release.
Compared with conventional HMIs, which use thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays, JOLED’s OLED displays offer higher-definition images and more vivid colors, and are designed to be thinner, lighter, and bendable – making them easier to install and capable of producing more optimized light output for improved functionality.
This investment will enable Denso to combine its HMI technology and expertise with JOLED’s OLED printing, thereby speeding the development and mass production of various types of OLED displays for instrument clusters, center-stack displays and other devices, contributing to more attractive and convenient cockpits.
As cars become more connected, more information can be provided to help make driving safer. Because of this, there is a growing demand for HMIs that can display information in a more visually appealing, larger and easier-to-understand format – all while encouraging drivers to stay focused on the road.
Denso says OLED displays enable these characteristics and will continue to gain prominence as HMIs are called upon to deliver improved visibility, more dynamic design and increased operational efficiencies.
Denso says it will continue to emphasize the development of HMI technologies that are key to the evolution of vehicles and help create cockpits that streamline interaction between human and machine to minimize traffic accidents.
Founded in January 2015, JOLED is a combination of the OLED display development divisions of Sony and Panasonic. The company is establishing the world’s first mass-production line for printed OLEDs and aims to launch production in 2020.
