How age affects perception of white LED light

Although LEDs are increasingly used in low-energy lighting and displays, consumers sometimes find their light harsh or unpleasant. Findings from a new study point to the need to take age-related perception differences into account when designing white LED lighting that is more pleasing to the eye.

"Our study revealed that the amount of short-wavelength light a source emits together with the viewer's age may lead to very different perceptions of a white light," said the research team leader Aurelien David of Soraa Inc., Fremont, Calif., U.S.A. "LED light sources exacerbate this effect, because their emission often features large peaks of blue or violet radiation."

The researchers report the new findings in The Optical Society (OSA) journal Optics Express. They point out that although conventional colorimetry assumes all users have the same visual response, more recently developed models for color perception take age-related effects into account and can be used to predict and help mitigate differences in color perception.