Shanghai, China, December 23, 2025- SIMS, the global leader in lighting and sensing innovation, announced today the launch of AS1181 LED driver chip solutions with human eye safety as the core design criterion. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies are moving from niche applications to daily life, driving innovation in education, healthcare, remote collaboration, and entertainment. Industry analysts predict that annual shipments of AR/VR devices will exceed tens of millions in the coming years, highlighting the market's demand for reliable, safe, and energy-efficient optical components.

AS1181 application image

As the distance between the display screen and the human eye continues to decrease, eye safety becomes a top priority. This also applies to the infrared lighting field of eye tracking applications, where precise current control and embedded protection mechanisms are core elements that meet safety regulations. The key challenge faced by equipment manufacturers is how to ensure performance is not affected while complying with strict international safety standards such as IEC 62471 and IEC 60825-1. Traditional solutions may use external components to comply with regulations, but will significantly increase system complexity. To this end, AMS Osram has launched the AS1181 LED driver chip solution, providing higher safety, better energy efficiency, and more compact design for smart glasses and AR/VR headset devices.

Markus Zieserl, Product Manager of AMS Osram, emphasized that "eye safety is the primary principle in the design of all AR/VR systems at AMS Osram. AS1181 deeply integrates security mechanisms into the chip, enabling reliable eye tracking lighting without the need for external protection circuits. This design not only provides customers with top-notch performance and higher energy efficiency, but also accelerates the product certification process. All functions are integrated into an extremely compact package. ”

The innovation of the AMS Osram AS1181 lies in directly embedding eye safety functions into the driver core, eliminating the need for complex external circuits. This "design is secure" concept simplifies system architecture while ensuring compliance with international standards. AS1181 has eight independent configurable channels, supports programmable LED currents up to 66mA, and integrates short-circuit/open circuit detection, overcurrent protection, thermal shutdown, and self-test functions. Its high-precision current control and fast transient response characteristics are crucial for eye tracking lighting. Through dual flash/PWM input, synchronization with external cameras can be achieved, perfectly adapting to binocular eye tracking scenes; And provide developers with flexible configuration space for I2C/I3C interfaces at the same time. Despite its powerful functionality, AS1181 can still be accommodated in a wafer level chip package (WLCSP) of only 2.9mm x 1.75mm x 0.5mm, making it ideal for space constrained smart glasses and AR/VR headsets.

AS1181 product image

AS1181 integrates precise current control, ultra-low power consumption, and integrated protection mechanisms to assist device manufacturers in maintaining design freedom while presenting sharper visual effects, longer battery life, and a safer user experience. This is a crucial step in promoting the wearable and everyday application of smart glasses and AR/VR devices.

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