As previously communicated, Philips continues to simultaneously prepare for an initial public offering (IPO) or a private sale of Philips Lighting. With equity markets’ sentiment improving compared to the first couple of months of the year, an IPO increasingly appears a more likely outcome, subject to further market developments and other relevant circumstances.

Augsburg, an university town in south Germany now can call itself a safer city for the so-called "smartphone zombies" as it is to officially embed LED lights to the road to display traffic lights to pedestrians that bury their head in the mobile, reoprted Sputnik Germany.

Goa, a state located in the South western region of India is to become the first state 100% lit with LEDs. The authority, the Electricity Department, has rolled out the distribution project of 1.5 million LED bulbs to approximately 489, 000 local consumers. Meanwhile, LED streetlight replacement project hosted by EESL will switch 166,000 conventional streetlights to LEDs, reported Herald.

To accelerate digital outcomes and use cases for commercial, industrial and municipal users, Current, powered by GE (NYSE: GE), is adding 15 partners and microservices to its open Intelligent Environments ecosystem. The growth in the company’s app catalog and digital capabilities comes as Current deploys intelligent LED infrastructure in three cities –Tianjin, China; Schenectady, New York; and Cleveland – and on the heels of the company’s acquisition of Daintree Networks, an enterprise IoT provider of building controls solutions for small and medium commercial facilities.

The U.S. Department of Energy has released a report on the first GATEWAY demonstration involving OLED lighting. Aurora Lighting Design, Inc., in Grayslake, IL, installed Acuity Brands' TriliaTM OLED lighting system in September 2014. The new report recounts the experiences of this pioneering project and provides valuable feedback to OLED and component manufacturers as well as luminaire manufacturers.

Zumtobel Group, an international lighting group and a leading player in the field of innovative lighting solutions and components, and Bosch Software Innovations, the software and systems house of the Bosch Group, will cooperate for more energy efficient and intelligent commercial buildings. In a development partnership project, the companies will initially focus on remote monitoring and space management in the area of smart lighting solutions for connected buildings.

Greg McNevin sheds light in this Greenpeace blog entry how LEDs are illuminating invisible radiation levels in Chernobyl and Fukushima. 

Opposition party Projet Montréal in Canada is asking the city to halt its CA$ 110 million project to replace 110,000 streetlights with LEDs lights over health risk and light pollution concerns, reported Montreal Gazette.

The AT&T Center, home to the award-winning San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the San Antonio Spurs, Stars, and Rampage, shines a little brighter. As part of a $110 million infrastructure and technology renovation project, new state-of-the-art light-emitting diode (LED) lighting was installed at the Bexar County-owned arena. The LEDs maximize energy efficiency and enhance the entertainment experience at the venue.

Policymakers, business leaders and financiers agreed that the global transition to energy efficient lighting solutions such as LEDs is an unprecedented opportunity, at a global event which took place in Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, on April 7-8.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C82 published ANSI C82.16-2015 American National Standard for Light-Emitting Diode Drivers—Methods of Measurement. This standard describes the procedures to be followed and the precautions to be taken in measuring performance of LED drivers. The scope includes, but is not limited to, LED drivers with these characteristics:

Company representatives from LiteOn, China Electric and Monocrystal urged Taiwanese LED manufacturers to direct resources to develop niche market products, instead of developing products in the overtly competitive general lighting and application markets during a press conference for the upcoming lighting show LED Taiwan at Taipei World Trade Center Club, Taiwan. 

The sapphire industry has never been the same since Apple dropped sapphire screens in iPhone 6 in 2014, followed with the bankruptcy of GTAT in October the same year. Things have been rough and hard for the sapphire industry over the last three years, as it enters a restructure phase, said Jerry Chen, General Manager, Taiwan, Monocrystal during a press conference held by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) at Taipei World Trade Center Club, Taiwan on Tuesday.

Researchers from the School of Medicine, Ajou University found that regular exposure to IR LED light reduces scars and improves the healing condition, compared to a controlled group, reported Healio.

Cornawall, a city in eastern Ontario, Canada, is expected to complete the upgrade of 5,000 LED streetlights by the end of 2016, reported Seaway News.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C78 published ANSI C78.374-2015 Light-Emitting Diode Package Specification Sheet for General Illumination Applications. The purpose of this new standard is to specify the standardized white light-emitting diode (LED) package specification sheet, or data reporting format, as the means of communication between LED package producers and users in general illumination applications. The minimum defined contents and format of the specification sheet are provided. 

As crews installed the 30,000th energy efficient L.E.D. (light emitting diode) streetlight fixture of a planned 50,000 units in Hempstead Town, Supervisor Anthony J. Santino detailed energy cost savings associated with the major project.  At the same time, Santino “illuminated” residents on the expansion of planet friendly/cost saving the initiative to include the conversion of 17,000 interior light fixtures at town facilities.  Joining the Supervisor at a press briefing on Hamilton Avenue in Island Park was Councilman Anthony D’Esposito, along with Ricky Tripodo of Facility Solutions Group (FSG), a private sector partner that is converting streetlight elements in tandem with town work crews.

Lawbreakers will now have a more difficult time recognizing the profile of the best-selling police vehicle in their rearview mirrors.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Meizu will be launching its latest model Meizu Pro 6 on April 13, 2016, with recent market rumors from China pointing the new phone might be equipped with LED ring flash, reported Android Headlines.

Highlights this week: Apple has dropped Osram Licht from its list of top 200 suppliers and added Royal Philips to its supply chain, ahead of the release of the iPhone 7.

Apple has dropped Osram Licht from its list of top 200 suppliers and added Royal Philips to its supply chain, ahead of the release of the iPhone 7, reported Bloomberg recently.

Using state-of-the-art theoretical methods, UCSB researchers have identified a specific type of defect in the atomic structure of a LED that results in less efficient performance. The characterization of these point defects could result in the fabrication of even more efficient, longer lasting LED lighting.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and OLEDWorks LLC announced today that OLEDWorks is developing a new lighting prototype with support from NYSERDA that would save energy and not disrupt sleep patterns for patients in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. OLEDWorks will collaborate with Highland Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center, which has formed a team of doctors and nurses to provide feedback on the innovative white and amber OLED lighting system.

Several tragedies struck the industry this week. Renowned architect Dame Zaha Hadid, known for her bold modern building designs unfortunately passed away at the age of 65 from a sudden heart attack on April 1, 2016. Sadly, this is no April Fools prank. Hadid’s design firm confirmed that the architect died in Florida, U.S.

Foxconn’s acquisition of Sharp could help Apple reduce its dependency on Samsung for OLED display panels, analyzed 9to5Mac.

LED headlights found in 31 different midsize car models evaluated delivered a relatively mediocre performance out in the first headlight ratings conducted by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the U.S.

Two towns Tiverton and Crediton located in UK will be among the first locations in Devon County to receive LED streetlight upgrades, reported The Gazette.

Philips Lighting, a Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) company and global leader in lighting, announced that Smartworld, an Etisalat and Dubai South joint venture company, has deployed the Cisco Digital Ceiling framework to create a smart, highly secure and connected indoor space at its new headquarters in Dubai South. The implementation brings together an advanced LED connected lighting system from Philips Lighting with Cisco’s secure IT network to enable Smartworld to deliver a more connected, comfortable and intelligent working environment for both employees and guests. Smartworld’s headquarters will be the showcase model of the company’s digital transformation and intelligent building capabilities for future developments in Dubai South, the UAE, and the broader region.

As LED lights are generally considered to be an ideal replacement for conventional HPS lamps for its high efficiency and low maintenance, complaints about these overtly bright energy-saving lights from residential areas across U.S. has been quite common.

A GBP 9.8 million (US $14.09 million) project to replace all the streetlamps in Reading with energy efficient LEDs is due to start on Monday 4th April.