The effects of lighting on human well-being are getting more attention with more and more lighting brands choosing LED products that deliver light with wavelengths similar to natural light. UK-based WILA Lighting, for example, has adopted Seoul Semiconductor’s SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs for its new product range, Visic. (Image: Seoul Semiconductor/WILA) The new product is a recessed ceiling luminaire featuring human-centric lighting design that matches the spectrum of natural sunlight. The technology lowers the blue light peak to be similar ...

Using light to transmit data is no longer the future. Vodafone is joining force with Signify to integrate 5G and LiFi to provide high speed and broadband connectivity. The collaboration aims to develop applications, use cases and solutions that deliver secure and reliable two-way wireless communication at speeds well beyond traditional wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. (Image: Signify) Vodafone in Germany said it was the first company to bring Germany into the 5G era and is combining telecommunications and lighting to push further innovations. The two ...

Plessey announced the launch of a Micro LED Direct-Drive display platform and development kit, based on its proprietary monolithic GaN-on-Silicon technology. According to Plessey, the Direct-Drive displays provide OEM’s and product developers with a solution to retrofit current products or develop new concept designs. Sized smaller than 5x5mm, the display can deliver a brightness of 2 million nits with an input power of 250 mW. (Image: Plessey) The Direct-Drive displays are designed to presents symbolic content with pixel capabilities for 2µm. Du...

Horticulture lighting provider Fohse reported that it has been selected by Las Vegas-based cannabis cultivator Green Life Productions to be its official grow lighting partner. GLP is a licensed cannabis cultivation facility that has a primary focus on organic production of cannabis through no-till living soil systems, using the ethics and principles of permaculture. From the outset, GLP has always used LED grow lighting as opposed to legacy types of lighting like high pressure sodium (HPS). Aside from being more energy-efficient, LED lighting allows for better prod...

Samsung is providing its Micro LED display, The Wall Luxury, for two events, Paris Fashion Week and the Monaco Yacht Show (MYS). With its meticulous display performance, Micro LED displays are perfect fits for high-end business event to display details of innovative design and fashion. (Image: Samsung) The Wall Luxury was demonstrated as part of the Trunk Show by the Italian luxury fashion brand Colombo Via Della Spiga, held at Ritz Paris on September 23, the first day of Paris Fashion Week featuring Colombo’s new crocodile collection. ...

As population in urban areas across the world continues to grow, it is estimated that by 2050, 68 percent of the world population will live in cities. This demographic shift will lead to increased demand for food within cities, adding strain to the agricultural and food systems, particularly in developing countries. Urban agriculture, or urban farming, has long been viewed as an innovative component in diversifying the food system. A 2018 study of urban agriculture’s global potential found that fully implemented urban farms around the world could produce as much as 180 million m...

Following ISELED's official debut at electronica 2016, this innovative technology based on "digital LED" has experienced enormous acceptance in the industry. This is also reflected in the development of the ISELED Alliance, which has set itself the goal of offering a comprehensive system solution – an ecosystem – around ISELED. From initially five members in autumn 2016, the number of Allianz members has increased to 28 companies. The entire value chain is now covered in order to establish ISELED as a standard solution for the automo...

Several LED manufacturers in the industry have turned their business focus to automotive applications targeting the progressing automotive and electric vehicle development. The German high-tech company Osram, as one of the leading automotive LED producers, announced that it is starting a new chapter in multi-pixel solutions for car headlights. Osram released the idea of the first hybrid LED "Eviyos" two years ago and is progressing the second generation of Eviyos featuring 25,600 pixels on a single LED chip, with pixel pitch of 40 µm. According to Osra...

With Nichia’s LED and driver IC from Infineon, advanced automotive front light with Micro LED enables safer driving and innovative application. The two companies announced that they have started the development of a high-definition (HD) light engine with more than 16,000 Micro LEDs for front light applications. According to Nichia, the Micro LED-based matrix light will offer a resolution about 180 times higher compared to current front light solution, paving the way for improved safety features. For example, HD light can be used to warn the driver of haza...

LEDs support sustainable horticulture development with tunable lighting technologies and other smart applications. Worldwide food suppliers as well as lighting technologies suppliers continue to create innovative growing techniques for improving crops production and quality. Israel based grow light supplier Fotonica has developed and patented its bio-illuminationTM lighting system that optimizes the growth of cannabis, green leaves, vegetables, and ornamentals while providing real-time data and analytics that ensures maximum crop control and profitability. Fotonica’s TM L...

Plessey, the UK-based optoelectronic technology solutions developer, said that it has transferred its business focus from high-powered solid-state lighting, horticultural lighting and healthcare/ safety sensors sector to GaN-on-Si monolithic Micro LED display technology. The company is disrupting the global display market with a new generation of Augmented Reality (AR) devices and display solutions based on the Micro LED technology. (Image: Plessey) Featured with high brightness, high contrast, lower power consumption, fast refresh time and the capabilities of int...

Shuiji Nakamura, the blue LED inventor and the winner of Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014, visited Taiwan last week and delivered speeches in Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University and Chung Hsing University, as well as in Micro LED company PlayNitride. Nakamura shared his research experiences in Japan and the U.S. on the way of blue LED development and pointed out the trends and potentials of the LED industry. Shuiji Nakamura was invited to PlayNitride Back in the 1990s, ZnSe was the material that the majority believed to be critical for...

Sony announced that it has launched its Crystal LED display system for consumers. The Micro LED display from Sony is able to provide up to 16K video content, offering an unrivaled cinema experience at home, if the customers are able to pay US$ 5 million. (Image: Songy) Having initially introduced its Micro LED display Crystal LED for use in commercial and entertainment venues, Sony began to offer residential configurations and installation of its Micro LED display module. The company provided some samples for residential configuration including 4K size w...

Until the third quarter of 2019, we have seen Micro LED products presented at several international events, marking the progressing maturity of the technology after years of development. Recently, companies of the Micro LED supply chain revealed that they are getting ready for mass production. Taiwan’s RiTdisplay and PlayNitride jointly developed two Micro LED displays for wearable applications. One is a 1.25-inch display and the other is a 0.94-inch flexible display. Both panels are featured with a resolution of 228 ppi. According to RiTdisplay, it has been ...

UV-C LED technology provider, AquiSense Technologies, announced that it has participated in ten aerospace projects to support UV-C LED application in the space. According to AquiSense, the company was selected to participate in BIOWYSE, a Horizon 2020 project dedicated to designing and testing a water monitoring and treatment system for next-generation manned space stations in 2015. Since then, several other aerospace projects have looked for leading water treatment technology from AquiSense. These projects include product design and hardware supply to both...

Signify announced that its LiFi system, Trulifi, was installed in the press center at Volkspark stadium in Hamburg, Germany. The installation provides journalists with reliable, secure and fast Internet connections through the room’s ceiling lights and alleviates overloaded wifi connection when the stadium is packed during games. The Volkspark stadium can host 57,000 people and will be one of 10 stadiums for the European football tournament in Germany in 2024. Like other international matches venue, the wireless signal in its busy press center was prone to overload due...

Most facility managers today are using building management systems (BMS), also known as building automation control systems (BACS), to control and monitor some of their buildings’ mechanical and electrical equipment such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and safety and security systems. However, the lighting system has remained separate from the BMS for some buildings, which is viewed as an opportunity loss for lighting technology providers. Osram, for example, considers that further optimization of energy usage and operations through lighting system an...

IFA 2019 opened on September 6 in Berlin and has attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors from across the world to showcase their latest products and technologies. Display technology has been a focus of worldwide big name recently and display products covering TVs and mobile phones are featured at the show. 8K TV is the battle field for global industry players. Samsung, Sharp, LG, TCL and others all brought their newly developed high end TVs adopting QLED, OLED, Micro LED, Mini LED technologies to the show. Korean giant Samsung announced its new 55-inc...

Innovative display technology is no longer a new idea in the industry with more and more Micro/Mini LED display products exhibited at major international events in the past two years. However, there are still several challenging bottlenecks within Micro LED and Mini LED manufacture process that block the way to product commercialization. Therefore, it is expected that more industry players joining the market will help to advance solutions for achieving technology breakthroughs. Flexible, Folding and Transparent Displays: Turning Points for the Oversupplied Displ...

On September 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized a set of new rules that eliminate the policy of LED light bulbs transition requirement starting January 1, 2020. The revise policy is considered a roll-back of the efficiency standards passed by Obama in 2017 and will slow down LED light upgrade. The policy was proposed in February 19, 2019 by DOE to withdraw the definitions of general service lamp (GSL) and general service incandescent lamp (GSIL) and other supplemental definition that adopt the efficiency standards. American Council ...

A research team formed by specialists in photonics, electrical and computer engineering and medicine jointly developed a device which integrated a 10x10 array of glass microneedles with Micro LED to deliver light for stimulating neurons in brains of mammals. Researchers from the University of Strathclyde, University of Utah and Fienstein Institute for Medical Research aim to advance optogenetic studies by connecting neural activities to specific cognitive functions in large mammals. In the study, the researchers combined a glass microneedle array with a custom fabricated...

Leveraging connected lighting technology from Signify and network expertise from Cisco, Norwegian IT systems integrator Atea has redefined the meaning of “smart office” with its office building in Stavanger, Norway. The office, named “living lab,” demonstrate the integration of connected technology on a single converged network. Key to smart office capabilities at Atea is Interact Office from Signify — a suite of connected lighting monitoring and management software — and connected sensors and luminaires from Signify. In addition to hig...

LiDAR companies continuously extend their partnerships with autonomous driving technology developers to speed up self-driving applications. Canadian LeddarTech announced the collaboration with the Flodraulic Group for autonomous applications. Velodyne Lidar, on the other hand, is providing its LiDAR sensors to Optimus Ride’s self-driving vehicles. Flodraulic is a mobile system integrator specialized in creating full machine control and monitoring systems. The company selected LeddarTech's LeddarTM IS16 LiDAR sensors for the feature of distance and a...

Visible light communication, or LiFi, has provided a high speed internet connection for residents on Graemsay, an island in Scotland. The LiFi network trial project was developed by The University of Edinburgh and pureLiFi. The LiFi trial project began in June 2019 with project named 5G RuralFirst. Before the trial, residents of the island often stock in a connection below 2Mbps. The LiFi network completely improved the connectivity by providing connection which is four times faster. Both outdoor and indoor systems are included in the LiFi trial network. Th...

Sony announced the partnership with Yamaha Motor for a joint development of the SC-1 Sociable Cart, an autonomous vehicle that delivers a new mobility experience. Sony and Yamaha Motor plan to launch services using this model in Japan in fiscal 2019. The vehicle was developed solely for the purpose of providing a new mobility experience, and it will not be made available for sale. The SC-1 is designed to transform what was a mere means of mobility into an all-new opportunity for entertainment. Sony and Yamaha Motor will deploy it to provide fun new diversions at venues s...

The annual Display International Touch Taiwan is taking place this week with exhibitors from all over the world showcasing their latest developments in display technology. Taiwan-based panel makers AUO and Innolux are both showing their innovative display products at the show including Mini LED backlight display, Micro LED displays and more. (Image: AUO) AUO announced that it will unveil several new display technologies covering Mini LED backlit 8K TVs as well as gaming monitors, notebook panels and VR wearable displays adopting Mini LED backlig...

A research shows that birds exposed to artificial light at night might increase the spread of West Nile Virus (WNV). West Nile Virus that infects birds and other animals including humans. The virus can cause West Nile fever for people and sever disease in horses. The virus is transmitted by birds and mosquitos. The study led by Meredith Kernbach, a PhD student in the University of South Florida College of Public Health, suggested that wild birds who carry the virus would remain infectious two days longer if exposed to artificial light at night time, leading to h...

The International Symposium on Automotive Lighting 2019 will take place from September 23 to 25 in Darmstadt, Germany. Inova Semiconductors, a member of the ISELED Alliance, is going to present its innovative solutions for automotive lighting with a focus on interior lighting during the event. Inova will exhibit the first available products and applications based on ISELED technology. A "Carbox" demonstrator illustrates the interaction between dynamic light and image content, opening up new possibilities for driver assistance and infotainment systems. A...

LED manufacturers all over the world have suffered from low profit and market uncertainty due to continuous price competition and on-going trade dispute. Besides cutting off lighting business, LEDinside observed the strategies developed by worldwide LED companies under the difficult circumstance to alleviate impacts on their business. Micro LED and Mini LED: the Turning Point for Taiwan LED Manufacturers Taiwan-based LED companies were challenged by Chinese competitors with their low price strategies in the past few years. However, Mini LED and Micro...

Many LED producers have turned their focus to automotive applications for higher profit. The ongoing development of autonomous driving technology and next generation automobile also creates new requirements for automotive lighting as well as automotive displays, leading to new opportunities for LED makers. Exterior lighting becomes even more important for driverless cars, as they need to pass information and communicate with each other as well as remind pedestrians of their movement. Deployment of advanced LED technology enables cars to provide details when they are about to ...