Intro

CES 2026—the world’s largest showcase for next-generation mobility and advanced technologies—is just around the corner. As autonomous driving and electrification continue to accelerate, the mobility sector is preparing to unveil breakthrough innovations that will define the future of the industry. Among them, automotive lighting is rapidly evolving into a core interface and communication medium that intuitively connects vehicles, pedestrians, and transportation infrastructure. With this shift, global interest and demand for next-generation lighting solutions are rising faster than ever.

Amid these changes, LG Innotek has once again captured global attention, earning the CES Innovation Award for two consecutive years—this time for its Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module, following last year’s recognition at CES 2025. What new possibilities does this innovative solution introduce for the future of vehicle lighting?

We met directly with LG Innotek’s Advanced Photonics Development Team to hear firsthand about the challenges and achievements they’ve encountered throughout their technology development journey—and to learn how they envision the future of automotive lighting.

Q. Congratulations on winning the CES Innovation Award for your lighting solution for the second consecutive year. How do you feel about this achievement, and what does this recognition mean for LG Innotek?

Receiving the CES Innovation Award for the second year in a row is deeply meaningful for us. It reflects the results of our ongoing efforts to continually advance technological excellence and customer value rather than settling for past achievements.

Today, automotive lighting plays a far greater role than simply illuminating the road. It has become a defining element of a vehicle’s design identity and a key communication interface. At LG Innotek, customer-centric innovation has always been both the foundation and the goal of our technology development. By staying closely attuned to customer needs in this rapidly evolving market, we have consistently delivered differentiated solutions that meet—and often anticipate—market expectations.

Above all, this accomplishment was made possible through the unwavering dedication and collaboration of our teams, who carried each project forward with a strong sense of responsibility even in challenging circumstances. For that reason, we believe this award represents more than the excellence of a single product. It stands as a symbolic testament to LG Innotek’s direction and vision as a leader in shaping the future of automotive lighting innovation.

Q. Could you explain what the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module is and what led to its recognition at CES this year?

As the era of autonomous driving draws near, lighting solutions are becoming increasingly vital—not only in defining a vehicle’s overall design identity but also in enabling real-time communication between vehicles, pedestrians, and surrounding infrastructure.

In this context, the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module showcases LG Innotek’s ability to respond proactively to the needs of the autonomous era and deliver differentiated technologies that meet both market and customer expectations. Our continued efforts to strengthen our core technological capabilities and anticipate emerging trends were key factors behind this year’s CES Innovation Award recognition.

The Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module is a V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication lighting solution that allows for individual pixel control, making it exceptionally well-suited for future mobility environments centered on electrification and autonomy. Its precise, pixel-level light control enables vehicles to visually express their status or intentions, supporting more intuitive communication on the road.

Additionally, the module achieves significantly reduced thickness, size, and weight compared to conventional products—while enhancing luminous efficiency. Its high structural flexibility also allows pixel size and arrangement to be freely customized based on customer requirements, offering a major advantage in design versatility.

Q. What differentiates the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module from conventional automotive lighting solutions?

Traditional automotive lighting modules typically combine LEDs with plastic lenses or reflective optical components. This structure tends to be heavy and bulky, creating significant design constraints for vehicle manufacturers.

To overcome these limitations, LG Innotek independently developed and applied the industry’s first reflective optical component made from white silicone. By maximizing the material’s natural light-reflecting characteristics, the module delivers a uniform surface light source without the need for additional components—allowing the overall thickness to be dramatically reduced.

As a result, the module achieves a thickness of just 3 mm—approximately 71% thinner than conventional products—while improving luminous efficiency by more than 30%. This not only enhances design freedom but also contributes to vehicle lightweighting and improved energy efficiency. Its flexible structure enables pixel sizes and layouts to be freely customized based on customer requirements, making it easier to optimize designs for the unique concepts of different automotive brands. We also see strong potential for this ultra thin, LED-based surface light source to serve as a replacement for OLEDs—currently regarded as next-generation surface light sources.

In short, the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module surpasses the limitations of conventional lighting solutions in terms of performance, design, and efficiency—establishing itself as a truly next-generation lighting technology.

Q. Reducing module thickness while improving luminous efficiency must have been an extremely challenging task. What technological approaches or strategies did you use to achieve this?

Developing the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module required an entirely different approach from traditional automotive lighting. To deliver uniform brightness within such a slim structure, we conducted extensive early-stage research, simulations, and repeated experiments to identify the optimal optical architecture.

One of the biggest challenges was eliminating the inevitable “hot spot” effect that occurs when the distance between the LED light source and the optical structure becomes extremely short—while still securing both luminance uniformity and high efficiency. To overcome this, we developed a reflective optical component using white silicone. By precisely leveraging the material’s high reflectivity, we engineered the system to induce multiple internal reflections that enhance uniformity and allow light to be evenly distributed without creating hot spots, even at minimal thickness.

We also carried out iterative calibration to minimize discrepancies between the design model and the actual manufactured product. This meticulous alignment ensured that we could achieve stable optical performance while maintaining an ultra thin module structure.

Q. From a design perspective, what new possibilities and differentiating advantages does the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module offer?

Automotive lighting today plays a central role not only in expressing individual identity but also in strengthening brand character and enhancing the overall completeness of a vehicle’s design. With its ultra thin profile and flexible structure, the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module significantly expands design freedom, enabling automakers to convey customer individuality and brand identity with far greater precision.

In particular, its silicone-based flexible material allows the module to be applied to complex curved surfaces or areas where lighting was previously difficult to implement—such as front grilles or bumpers. This versatility also creates opportunities beyond the mobility sector, giving the module strong potential as a next-generation design lighting solution across a variety of industries.

Q. In that case, what value do you believe the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module provides from a V2X communication standpoint?

The Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module is a core technology that extends automotive lighting into a functional V2X communication interface. With precise pixel-level control, it can display text, images, and animations in high resolution directly on the exterior of the vehicle. For instance, in emergency situations, it can instantly indicate the vehicle’s internal status through lettering or intuitively convey the driver’s intent or emotion through customized emoticons.

Because each pixel is controlled independently, the scope of expressive communication is significantly broader than that of conventional lighting solutions, and information can be transmitted in a much clearer and more intuitive manner. In this sense, lighting evolves from merely illuminating the surroundings to serving as an “intuitive communication interface” that enables interaction between vehicles, pedestrians, other vehicles, and surrounding infrastructure.

As autonomous driving becomes more prevalent, such active communication capabilities will only grow in importance. This is why the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module is increasingly being recognized as a key solution for next-generation V2X-based vehicle communication technologies.

Q. From the customer’s perspective, what value or differentiation does the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module deliver?

For automakers, the most immediate benefits are expanded design freedom and improved fuel efficiency through lightweighting. Its ultra thin structure enables a wide range of distinctive exterior designs that were previously difficult to achieve, while the reduced module weight helps lower overall vehicle mass—ultimately contributing to better fuel economy and driving efficiency.

As the module uses silicone-based materials, it maintains stable performance across a wide range of environmental conditions, from high heat to extreme cold. Another key advantage is enhanced pedestrian safety: in the event of a collision, silicone materials reduce the risk of injury from fragments or debris.

For end consumers, the module provides a smoother, more uniform surface-light expression, offering a richer and more intuitive visual experience. When combined with interactive features—such as lighting-based status displays or communication cues—it goes beyond conventional illumination to create entirely new forms of vehicle–user interaction.

In essence, the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module delivers greater design competitiveness for automakers and an entirely new lighting experience for consumers, positioning it as an innovative solution for future mobility.

Q. Lastly, what direction and goals are LG Innotek pursuing for the future of automotive lighting technology?

LG Innotek continues to develop high-performance, high-efficiency lighting solutions by proactively responding to market trends and customer needs. Leveraging our strengths in core component design and precision manufacturing, we have evolved beyond a traditional lighting module supplier to become a true Total Solution Provider—offering integrated capabilities across mechanical design, optics, thermal management, circuitry, and animation software. We also hold an extensive portfolio of more than 700 patents related to surface-lighting technologies.

Our NEXLIDE lineup—including NEXLIDE A+, which received the CES 2025 Innovation Award—is a prime example of LG Innotek’s unmatched technological expertise. By combining proprietary micro-optical patterning technology with flexible optical silicone materials, the series delivers expanded design freedom and superior energy efficiency, setting new benchmarks for flexible, three-dimensional automotive lighting.

Looking ahead, LG Innotek will continue enhancing its lighting solutions to serve as a core technology partner leading the future of automotive illumination. At CES 2026, we plan to showcase a broad range of next-generation lighting modules—including the Ultra Thin Pixel Lighting Module—along with our latest sensing and communication components for AD/ADAS. We are confident that visitors will clearly see the direction of LG Innotek’s future mobility lighting technologies and the vast possibilities they open up.