According to LEDinside, the UV LED market value is expected to reach US$ 1.224 billion in 2022, with a 2017-2022 CAGR of 33 percent. Apart from the stable market of UV LED curing, the major growing momentum of UV LED comes from sterilization, including surface, static water and flowing water disinfection. UV-C LED is the core technology of these increasing applications. Ultraviolet light in the C spectrum with wavelengths between 200-280 mm is energy-rich and powerful to destroy harmful micro-organisms and thus can be used in disinfection. UV-C li...

LED integrated wearables are becoming more and more common in the modern society for various functions. Motorbike clothing manufacturer Held is cooperating with Osram to improve visibility on the road by launching motorbike clothing that can be retrofitted with LED light modules from Osram. The lighting modules developed by Osram can be integrated into the clothing through a fabric tube and connected to a rechargeable battery pack which riders can switch on the light easily. According to Osram, the light strips offer up to seven hours of active lighting in continuous operati...

Do you have problem waking up in the morning? The right lighting can help people overcome morning drowsiness, according to a study by Korean research team. Researchers from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) suggested that a blue-enriched LED light can effectively boost morning alertness. This study further supports the concept of human centric lighting and provides the basis for major changes in future lighting strategies. The 2017 Nobel Prize winning research unveiled the molecular mechanisms that control circadian rhythms. In the early 2...

Researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) published a new finding of LED medical application for correcting heart rhythm disorder. The research team used a bioelectronics defibrillator implanted with LED to reset irregular heartbeat. They developed a system which detects fast arrhythmias in the atrium of a rat’s heart and sends a signal to an LED device placed near the heart. “The flash of light from this LED then causes the heart to generate an electric current itself to halt the arrhythmia. This is made possible by using gene therapy...

Indoor farming with controlled environment and LED lighting has brought agriculture to another level. Osram, as a leading photonic producer, has been an active player in the development of horticulture lighting. The company announced the development of LED-based luminaire system, Phytofy RL, which is designed to meet the increasing demands of horticulture researches at universities, private institutes and plant production in greenhouses and vertical farms. (Image: Osram) Phytofy RL is a tunable lighting system integrated UV to far-red LEDs to create various growth...

In order to avoid pedestrian related traffic accidents caused by distraction, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) has developed a smart crosswalk system with LED warning light to alarm both drivers and pedestrian. Researchers at KICT have designed the “next-generation pedestrian traffic accident prevention system” that integrated LED embedded pavement, thermal imaging cameras, electronic sign and an app. When the thermal cameras detect pedestrians approaching the crosswalk, it will activate the LED light embedded...

German semiconductor maker Infineon announced that it has teamed up with LG Electronics to introduce Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology adopted front-facing camera on the latest smartphone of LG which will be revealed at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona. Infineon has provided its REAL3™ image sensor chip to LG’s upcoming G8 ThinQ. With Infineon’s pmdtechnologies in algorithms for processed 3D point clouds (a set of data points in space produced by 3D scanning), the innovative sensor will deliver a new level of front camera capability in a...

The penetration of Mini LED is expected to increase in the coming years with applications including gaming display and other professional monitors. The technology is also becoming popular for automotive applications. WitsView, a division of Trendforce, suggested a high possibility of Mini LED backlighting mass production in 2019 and noted that the cost of display production may increase by 20 to 100 percent depending on the number of Mini LED used. LEDinside noticed that Mini LED has been adopted as backlight for automotive displays such as HUDs, dashboards, in-...

People are becoming more aware of the effects of artificial lighting on the human body and wildlife, especially the impacts of lighting at night. A new study led by researchers from Newcastle and York universities found that street lights may disrupt plant pollination as they attract moths; however, by switching off street lights for part of the night, the interruption can be minimized. Apart from bees, moths also play an important role in the pollination of plants to supplement the day-time work of bees and other pollinating insects. These night-time pollinators are critical even f...

Signify is speeding up its LiFi development and implement. The leading lighting company announced the trail of LiFi in Europe, North America and Asia through cooperation with more than 30 customers. Signify and its customers set up pilot LiFi installations in worldwide cities. In India, Signify works with Incubex, an incubator for product and business solution, to set up a LiFi implemented meeting room where new startups and firms can apply the technology with Signify’s Philips LiFi-enabled luminaires. In Europe, Signify collaborate with telecoms company...

Zumtobel announced that it has teamed up with pureLiFi, the UK-based LiFi company spun off from the University of Edinburgh, to empower its LED solution with capacity of data transmission. With the partnership, Zumtobel installed pureLiFi’s system with its LED lights. The trial will allow Zumtobel to evaluate the market demand for the technology over the coming months. Then the company aims to leverage LiFi to create value for lead adopters from industries such as medical, defence, industrial and manufacturing. (Image: Zumtobel) Alfred Felder, Zumt...

The importance of LED lighting applications in the horticultural industry is increasing with the on-going trend of indoor and vertical farming applications. With controllable spectrum and illuminance, LED lighting is widely used in cultivation for various kinds of crops including tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, greens and cannabis. LEDinside notices that many LED and lighting companies have increased their product portfolio for horticulture lighting and pushed related technology development. According to the report of LEDinside, titled “2019 Light LED and LED ...

A research team at the University of Seville, Spain, announced that it has developed a predictive method for quantifying the potential energy and economic saving that using smart lighting control systems brings. According to their estimation, smart controlled lighting system can save about EUR 4000 (US$ 4526) over ten years for 80-square-meters space. Supported by the project Dynalight, from the competitive bidding process Retos 2017 and promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Education, the research team developed “daily performance metrics” that include climati...

Osram provided its advanced LED lighting technology to the famous winter sport event, Red Bull Crashed Ice, which was held in Fenway Park in Boston as the event’s exclusive lighting partner. During the event, Osram embedded its fully DMX controllable LED lighting in the ice to create a vivid feature in the track to guide the riders downhill and over jumps and other obstacles. In addition, the company also provided its LED-embedded gear to a rider. (image: Red Bull Crashed Ice) Osram has been an active supporter of the event. In early 2018, it equip...

The Trump administration proposed to exempt some light bulbs from new efficiency standards that passed by Obama in January 2017 and many believe the plan will result in extra electricity costs for the U.S. citizen while increase greenhouse gas emission. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) planned to revise definitions of general service lamp (GSL) and general service incandescent lamp (GSIL) and other supplemental definition that adopt the green standards published by Obama. The revised definition will then remove three-way bulbs, candle-shaped bulbs used in chandel...

Apart from the buyout talk confirmation, Osram also announced that it has purchased shares of Beaconinside, a German company developing IoT solutions, for expanding its digital business in location-based services. Osram aims to integrate Beaconinside’s IoT solution for retails, smart city and logistics with its sensor technology to extend product portfolio such as beacon. Stefan Kampmann, CTO of OSRAM, noted, "Beaconinside's innovative solutions enable sales-supporting advertising campaigns, detailed customer analyses and intelligent logistics monitorin...

Signify has been increasing its investment in fast-growing areas including horticulture, solar, and LiFi as they go in line with the company’s sustainability principle. LiFi was particularly addressed as Signify has recently acquired Firefly LiFi, a LiFi company with offices in the U.S. and Germany. According to the news covered by LiFiReport, Signify has bought FireFly LiFi with the transaction completed in December 2018. The lighting company has also acquired a French LiFi company by the end of 2016 and started a trial in Paris with a French real esta...

Austrian sensing solution provider ams announced that it will showcase several industry-first technologies for mobile devices at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona during February 25 -28. ams will demonstrate state-of-the-art sensor solutions for mobile, computing and consumers including 3D sensing technology, behind screen solution color sensors and medical-level wearable devices. The industrial and automotive applications of these technologies will also be presented by ams. (image: ams) The 3D sensing technologies for mobile devices include active stereo ca...

Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is planning to convert its public street lights into LED lighting, aiming to initiate smart city applications. The project proposed by Dublin City Council will replace up to 40000 city lights with LED and install smart city applications as well as restore 120 columns with heritage luminaires to original design. The cost is estimated to be EUR 80 million (US$ 90 million) and the project is currently at tendering stage. The city is famous for its ornate historical street light with Georgian style decoration including shamrocks and crest...

In the modern society, the majority of people spend about 90 percent of their time indoor, leading to the issue of lacking explosion to natural sunlight. This further causes disruption of people’s circadian system, which connects to sleep disorder and depressed moods that would negatively affect productivity for work and study. In order to solve the problem, human centric lighting (HCL) applications have attracted more attention. HCL mimics natural light with adjusted colors that shift from bright blue-rich white during the day time to keep people alert and focus to relaxin...

Last week at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2019 in Amsterdam, Korean electronics producers LG and Samsung both introduced their latest LED and OLED technologies for signage applications. Samsung presented a range of 8K digital signage products including QLED displays and the 2019 version of The Wall display while LG demonstrate a transparent and curving OLED signage as well as a full lineup of LED products. Samsung showcased a new 82-inch QLED 8K signage, a 292-inch The Wall display in 8K, Multi-Link LED HDR technology and semi-outdoo...

Velodyne LiDAR has begun partnership with Postmates, a food delivery startup, by providing its LiDAR sensors to Postmates Serve, innovative self-driving rover providing services for short-distance deliveries. (Image: Postmates) The autonomous rover is equipped with Velodyne’s market-leading VLP-16 Puck™ sensor, which is built into the top of the rover for a high-performance surround view, enabling Serve to detect people and objects as it completes local deliveries. Serve can carry 50 lbs and go 30 miles on a single charge. Also, it can interact wit...

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published new guideline for outdoor luminaires and roadway and area lighting equipment with LED technology added. The NEMA LSD 80-2018 Installation Guidelines for Outdoor Luminaires—Grounding Considerations addresses the application of the National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC) as it pertains to the grounding of outdoor luminaires and recommends installation guidelines. New outdoor luminaries contain more electronics (e.g., LED lamps, electronic drivers, and electronic lighting ...

In the beginning of 2019, GE Lighting announced that it is deepening its C by GE portfolio which features hub-free IoT smart lighting with Google Assistant control. The Made-for-Google products are able to connect with Google’s system and be controlled via app on smartphones or portable devices. The connected lights allow app and voice control for changing the color of lights and tuning brightness. Furthermore, they can also combine smart accessories including smart wall plug and motion sensor to manage lighting away from home and by movement. (Image: GE) E...

One essential features of LED lighting is that its wavelength and intensities can be managed to meet various requirements of different applications. Jeff Tsao, a researcher of Sandia National Laboratories, believes that engineered light has great potential to improve human health and productivity. Tsao and his colleagues have published a Nature “Perspectives” article in November 2018 to illustrate the unlimited potential of LED lighting. (Image: SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES) The authors addressed that "LED lighting is o...

At this year’s CES event, French Li-Fi company Oledcomm presented its new Li-Fi module, LiFiMAX, which provides high speed internet through invisible light and brings the technology a step forward. Oledcomm released the first ceiling Li-Fi module for information transfer which can offer high speed internet connection of 100Mbps in downlink data rate and 40Mpbs uplink. According to Oledcomm, LiFiMax can provide connection to 16 users simultaneously with coverage of 28 square meters. (Image: Oledcomm) Benjamin Azoulay, president of Oledcomm, explain...

AIXTRON announced that the company will supply multiple AIX 2800G4-TM (IC2) cluster systems to San’an Optoelectronics. The Chinese chipmaker with its long-term plan for the rising market demands for fine pitch displays requires a capacity increase in red, orange and yellow LEDs (ROY LEDs). AIXTRON’s AIX 2800G4-TM (IC2) tools will feature a configuration of 15x4 inches and are scheduled for shipment between 4Q18 and 2Q19.

Signify announced an innovative creation of virtual reality (VR) development for its customers. With the new lighting VR apps, Philips Fashion Lighting VR and Philips Urban VR, users can immerse themselves in the virtual world to visualize how lighting can transform their fashion store or city street.

The on-going development of LED research and bioelectronics medicine has sparked off a new solution for curing bladder problems. A team consisting of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, the University of Illinois and Northwestern University has created an implantable device with biointegrated LEDs that can detect and tamp overactivity in the bladder. The research team of neuroscientists and engineers introduced a miniaturized bio-optoelectronic device that is soft and stretchy and implanted it around the bladder of the lab rats. The device expands ...

Signify reported that two French vegetable growers have installed its LED horticulture lighting for their greenhouses to grow cucumbers year-round. Jardins Réunis and Cheminant have both installed Philips GreenPower LED toplighting and Philips GreenPower LED interlighting in their new cucumber greenhouses in the Nantes region of France. The growers are the first to grow high-wire cucumbers with LED lighting in the country, showing their leadership as members of the Océane grower cooperative. (Image: Signify) Signify noted that LED light...