Forvia Shows Innovations for Ambiance, Efficiency and Safety in Automobiles

Forvia showed seven interesting demos for automotive displays at the Vehicle Display Interface (VDI) 2026 conference.

Ambient LED light-guide tiles using an air gap (rather than solid light guides) — 5mm thin, 60% lighter and 50% lower CO2 than traditional solid light guides. Won the German Innovation Award for sustainability this year.
Controlled via Forvia’s software toolkit (“Symfony”), which can take any vehicle input to drive lighting effects for personalization and connectivity: customizable color themes (e.g., butterfly, birthday, holiday themes), ADAS safety alert overrides, ambient lighting synced to the surround-view camera (mirroring outside colors like greenery), and audio-reactive lighting synced to music genre.
Lower-density LED sections suited to door panels; denser/safety-oriented sections suited closer to the instrument panel.
Toolkit already available on the SDV (software-defined vehicle) system; customers can prototype through launch without their own software development, just specifying input sources. Works with any backlight/display technology as part of Forvia’s tier-one integration ecosystem.

Uses direct screen-printing film technology on the B-side of the cover glass; multiple film options available.
Bright and readable when on (1,200 nits), essentially invisible when off — described as one of the better hidden-display demos the interviewer has seen; reportedly a device the interviewer has commented is one of the better ones.

Uses only 440 dimming zones vs. a typical 2,000+ for this size, thanks to a pixel-level software algorithm (developed by Forvia’s Montreal team) that adjusts contrast at the pixel level using global/local contrast ratios — not simply modulating the video feed and backlight together.
Demo showed power draw dropping from 96.5mW to 88mW with the algorithm enabled, alongside a more vibrant image.
A similar smart-dimming approach exists for edge-lit displays, already implemented on a TDDI chip that’s pin-to-pin compatible with standard industry ICs/TDDIs; already automotive-qualified.

Ambient sensor reads surrounding light; enabling smart dimming dropped backlight power from 74% to 54% while increasing contrast/vibrancy — improving image quality, reducing power consumption and heat dissipation.

Same underlying technology as the large local-dimming display, but thinner — requiring more LED zones and a “zero OD” backlight unit to achieve the slimmer profile. Showed a marked contrast improvement with Green HDR enabled vs. disabled.

Uses eye tracking (leveraging the same IR camera many vehicles already include for driver-monitoring/regulatory purposes) combined with a steering-wheel button, letting users select on-screen options by looking at them rather than touching a screen — aimed at reducing distraction, especially as center console displays trend wider/farther from the driver.
Menus can be dynamic (e.g., looking at “music” reveals genre sub-options) unlike static physical steering-wheel buttons.
Also demoed an e-mirror/blind-spot display that stays blank until the driver glances toward it (activating only in peripheral vision when relevant, such as before a lane change), then turns off when the driver looks away.
Interviewer raised a safety concern about drivers glancing at a center console; the guest’s counterpoint centered on keeping hands on the wheel and compensating for wider console placements.

A brushless-motor-driven display that folds up into the vehicle’s roof through a dual-moonroof design, deploying quietly for rear-seat entertainment. Currently in production at 17 inches, with a 21-inch version coming.
Uses shatterproof/laminated safety glass meeting head-impact requirements, which vary by market (North America described as more stringent).