The 12th China International Forum on Automotive Lighting (IFAL 2024) opened with great fanfare in Shanghai during Oct. 17-18, 2024, marking a significant event in the field of automotive lighting. The forum was guided by the Ministry of Education's International Cooperation and Exchange Department, the China Association for Science and Technology's International Cooperation Department, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lingang New Area Management Committee, and Fudan University. It was jointly organized by Institute of Electric Light Sources of Fudan University, the Intelligent Transportation Lighting Committee of the China Illuminating Engineering Society (CIES - CIE NC China), Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Certification & Tech Innovation Center Co., Ltd., Fudan Lingang Industrial Innovation Platform, and Shanghai IFAL Vision IntelligentTechnology Co., Ltd. The chairman of the IFAL is Professor Yandan Lin from Fudan University.
The forum attracted over 400 top experts, scholars, and industry leaders from academia and industry both domestically and internationally, with additional international guests participating online. The event served as a platform to showcase the latest research findings and technological developments, and it also aimed to promote academic and cultural exchanges among young scholars of the China Association for Science and Technology, attracting young scientists from various countries.
The forum commenced with an opening ceremony at the Lingang Center, the permanent venue for the World's Top Scientists Forum. Distinguished guests including Professor Ma Yugang, Vice President of Fudan University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Zhuang Songlin of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Liu Zhenglei, President of the China Illuminating Engineering Society, and Professor Zhan Yiqiang, Deputy Dean of the School of Information Science and Technology at Fudan University, delivered opening remarks.
The forum's theme for this year, "Vehicle Lighting in the AI Era," highlighted the integration of automotive lighting technology with artificial intelligence. The event featured 39 presentations over two days, covering six topics: "Vehicle Lighting Sources and Innovative Modules," "Auditory and Visual Environments and Driving Behavior," "Modal Perception and Immersive Interaction," "Innovative Vehicle Lighting Technology and Vehicle Displays," "Measurement, Evaluation, and Standardization," and "Optical Innovation Research and Development Tools." Experts from research institutions, standardization organizations, automotive companies, and testing institutions from multiple countries engaged in discussions, providing valuable insights into the latest advancements and future trends in automotive lighting and display technologies.
A roundtable discussion on "The Future Opportunities of Automotive Lighting" was moderated by Hossein Nafari, General Manager of Mandar Electronics. The discussion explored the challenges and opportunities that the AI era brings to automotive lighting, with contributions from industry experts such as Dr. Wolfgang Huhn and Professor Xu Shijie from Fudan University.
In addition to the academic exchanges, the IFAL forum also organized an industrial ecosystem tour in the Lingang New Area for leading automotive ecosystem experts and participating foreign scholars. The tour included a cultural exchange event at the Lingang DiShui Cloud Hall and a visit to the forefront of the industry exhibition hall, showcasing the latest achievements in scientific innovation and green development in the Lingang New Area.
The IFAL 2024 concluded on October 18, with a closing report summarizing the hot topics in automotive lighting research discussed during the Vision Congress held concurrently with IFAL. Professor Yandan Lin (Associate Director of CIE Division 6, and Division 4 member, Chair of TC 1-91: Methods for evaluating the colour quality of white-light sources), the forum's chairman, announced the annual hot topics and looked forward to the next gathering in 2025 (June 25-27, Shanghai).
The IFAL 2024 has been a catalyst for the development of the automotive lighting discipline and has significantly contributed to the advancement of research and industry in the field of automotive lighting. It has fostered international cooperation and exchange, providing a platform for the global community to share knowledge and collaborate on cutting-edge technologies.
