TAOS, Inc. Display's Vehicle Displays At Symposium

Paper Addresses Ambient Light Sensing as a New Safety Measure for In-Vehicle Displays

PLANO, Texas, Oct. 13 -- Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions(R), Inc. (TAOS) will present a technical paper on new safety measures for in-vehicle displays at the Society for Information Display (SID) 10th Annual Symposium on Vehicle Displays which opens today at the Marriott Hotel in the Detroit suburb of Ypsilanti, Michigan. The paper, titled "Ambient Light Sensing and Safety for In-Vehicle Displays," will discuss how new safety measures such as ambient light sensing can help reduce driver distractions. Its author, Glenn W. Lee, TAOS market specialist for strategic products, will present the paper during the Human Factors Session which begins today at 3:45 PM.

In the presentation, Lee will point out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 20-30 percent of all vehicle crashes are related to driver distraction. Moreover, the NHTSA believes that today's innovative in-vehicle technologies such as cell phones, navigation and entertainment systems, night vision systems and wireless Internet can impair a driver's ability to drive safely. For example, glare and reflection from navigational or entertainment systems can have an impact on a driver's visual performance. "New safety measures such as ambient light sensing can minimize manual, visual and cognitive distractions by automatically controlling the display brightness levels," said Lee.

Ambient light sensing is the ability to measure surrounding illumination using an intelligent light sensor to automatically adjust the brightness level of an LCD panel display. Ambient light sensing enhances visual aesthetics three ways:

   --  reduces eyestrain and provides optimal viewing in diverse lighting
       conditions in daybreak, daylight and nighttime driving;
   --  eliminates the manual task of adjusting the display brightness
       according to ambient lighting conditions;
   --  measuring the ratio of infrared to visible light can be used to
       determine color temperature, which allows more intelligent control of
       display contrast for display-to-eye optimization.

Beyond aesthetics, ambient light sensing can also increase lamp life and extend battery life in mobile applications.

The award-winning TAOS TSL2550 Ambient Light Sensor is the industry's first ambient light sensor that converts light intensity to a digital signal output capable of direct SMBus interface. The data provided by the TSL2550 enables the user to easily calculate the light intensity in Lux without the use of an expensive optical filter. Applications for the TSL2550 include measuring ambient lighting conditions for controlling display backlights in portable equipment such as laptops, PDAs and cell phones as well as in-vehicle displays. The TSL2550 also can be used in a number of other applications including but not limited to street light control, security lighting, digital cameras, sunlight harvesting, contrast control in automotive instrument clusters, projection and big screen TVs or any application where ambient light detection is required. The TSL2550 is available in both an 8-pin SOIC surface mount package as well as a transfer-molded board (TMB) package.

About TAOS, Inc. (Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions)

Texas Advanced Optoelectronics Solutions (TAOS), Inc. is based in Plano, Texas. Established in 1998, the company develops, manufacturers and markets leadership integrated optoelectronic products. These devices combine precision mixed-signal functionality and photo-detectors on the same integrated circuit to produce advanced products with performance and cost advantages over conventional solutions. TAOS optoelectronic products include:

   --  Ambient Light Sensors (TSL2550)
   --  Color Sensors (TCS230, TSLR257, TSLG257, TSLB257)
   --  Color Reflective Sensors (TRS1722, TRS1755, TRS1766)
   --  Light-to-Frequency Converters (TSL230R, TSL235R, TSL245)
   --  Light-to-Voltage Converters (TSL25xR, TSL26xR)
   --  CMOS Linear Sensor Arrays (TSL201R, TSL202R, TSL208R, TSL210,
       TSL1301, TSL1401R, TSL1402R, TSL1406R, TSL1410R, TSL2014, TSL3301)
   --  Functionally Enhanced Opto-Couplers (TPS5904, TIL300)