Technical article: Automotive and motorcycle displays
Display components and control units: Holistic testing of optical parameters, touch performance and EMC
Vehicles are equipped with a variety of displays for assistance and infotainment systems. It doesn't matter how long you've been on the road, what angle the sun is shining in from or how dark the night is on an unlit country road: For safety reasons, the display systems must always remain 100 percent clearly visible, but must never dazzle. In addition, they are generally not positioned at a 90-degree angle directly in front of the observer, as the driver must concentrate on the road traffic. The development service provider ARRK Engineering invested in a specialized display laboratory to test automotive and motorcycle displays according to these strict conditions and individual requirements. The system recognizes the position of the testing device in space and achieves a very high level of reproducibility even from different angles, thanks to a travel accuracy of 0.2 mm. In addition to the optical parameters, ARRK Engineering also offers in-house measurements in related areas such as touch performance and EMC.
"The environmental requirements for automotive displays are enormous," says Simon Kleinhans , Senior Expert Display technology and UI/UX at ARRK Engineering. "For example, when it comes to light: when it gets brighter, and the sun is shining, you can simply turn a cell phone into the shade or shield it. Of course, you can't do that with a car." Vehicles are parked outside in the midday sun on cold winter nights and in midsummer, and the displays installed in them have to work just as well in double-digit sub-zero temperatures as they do in extreme heat. The brightness control covers a much wider range than for smartphones or monitors: the display systems must not dazzle when driving alone on a country road on a new moonlit night, but on the other hand, must show the speed and navigation reliably and clearly on a bright summer's day when the sun shines directly on the display in the convertible. In order to give car manufacturers the opportunity to flexibly test these important optical parameters to the required high standards, ARRK Engineering has set up a state-of-the-art display laboratory, which was inaugurated in summer 2025.
High reproducibility from flexible angles
"Automation and reproducibility are particularly important when it comes to display testing," explains Simon Kleinhans. "This is the only way to make meaningful comparisons over the entire development process and the product lifetime of a display." This applies all the more to measurements that are not to be carried out at an exact 90-degree angle, which is the rule rather than the exception in the automotive sector. This is because all display systems in the vehicle - with the exception of HUDs - are usually positioned in the peripheral field of vision so that drivers can devote their main attention to the road traffic. In order to carry out individual application-related measurements to suit different vehicle designs, it is not only the measuring robot used that is highly precise, with an accuracy of 0.2 mm. The system also knows the position of the Device Under Test (DUT) in space and can align itself precisely to it from any angle.
ARRK Engineering is therefore able to test all display technologies such as LCD, miniLED, µLED and OLED, both as flat variants and in curved or freeform. The development service provider can also flexibly supplement standard parameters such as brightness, contrast, color fidelity and nd gamma curve with additional test procedures according to customer requirements. Larger series of measurements are also possible, for example, to collect statistical parameters or carry out an overall assessment of modules or products. "However, our measurements are not just limited to the optical field: we also offer in-house tests for other relevant domains such as touch performance and EMC," adds Kleinhans. "And if a parameter does not meet our customers' requirements, our many years of experience enable us to identify optimization potential - be it in the area of mechanics, electronics or touch. Our colleagues are all in the same company and can be directly involved if necessary."
Who is interested in optical measurements? We traditionally come from the automotive sector, but our offer is generally of interest to anyone who is interested in high image quality and consistent results. These include products from the medical technology or prosumer and professional sectors.