Therefore, manufacturers are increasingly turning to interior features to differentiate between models and those of other brands. This transition is eloquently expressed in the quote from the president of an instrument panel/cabin manufacturer: "The battleground has shifted to the dashboard. It's no longer about what's under the hood, but what's inside the cabin." There are, therefore, ample opportunities for printed/flexible electronics to add functionality to the dashboard while simultaneously facilitating efficient manufacturing, as outlined in the recently published IDTechEx report, "Printed and Flexible Electronics for Automotive Applications 2021-2031: Technologies and Markets." Examples include the addition of more and higher-performance displays, innovative control interfaces, and, in general, improved aesthetics with organic curves and integrated functionality.
Interior Screens Are Multiplied:
The number and size of color screens in car interiors are becoming increasingly apparent: the recently launched Honda-E has six for front-seat passengers alone. Screen placement extends beyond the conventional central display and digital instrument clusters to include screens for rearview mirrors and passenger entertainment. OLEDs are likely to see increasing adoption, as their resolution and color gamut meet the expectations consumers have for their smartphones. Compliance should also enable a wider range of integration opportunities, such as improving the safety of "transparent" pillars.
Smart Surfaces and IME:
No discussion of automotive interior trends is complete without mentioning smart surfaces, where capacitive touch sensors and integrated lighting in interior panels replace mechanical switches. The technology driving this transition is in-mold electronics (IME), which combines electronic, decorative, and mechanical features into a single component. This is achieved through screen printing conductive traces and mounting simple SMD components on a sheet, thermoforming, and finally, injection molding.
Integrated Motor Engineering (IME) allows multifunctional components, such as center consoles and overhead control panels, to be much lighter, simpler, and easier to manufacture. An additional advantage is the separation of structural and electronic/decorative functionality, which facilitates versioning, as the same molds for thermoforming and injection molding can be used to produce parts with different appearances and functionalities. Furthermore, IME enables new use cases, such as incorporating electronic and touch-sensitive functionalities into front seatbacks, and some automotive design teams have identified more than 40 distinct use cases.
Smart surfaces are also likely to evolve to offer more sophisticated interactions than simple capacitive sensors or on/off buttons. For example, printed pressure sensors are likely to be incorporated into control panels, thus offering a wider range of inputs. Haptic feedback is also likely to be widely integrated, as positive feedback is more satisfying and arguably safer if it minimizes the need for the driver to take their eyes off the road.
Printed and Flexible Interior Heating:
The current method of heating car interiors by blowing hot air is highly inefficient and detrimental to the range of electric vehicles. Printed/flexible electronics for incorporating heaters at contact points are much more efficient, so this approach is likely to extend beyond seats and steering wheels to include armrests and center consoles. Furthermore, the shape of printed electronics allows heaters to be placed much closer to the surface, making the heating more efficient and responsive. Transparent conductors take this idea a step further and can be applied just beneath the surface of materials, allowing them to be combined with lighting elements.
