Many leading LED companies across the world including Cree, Nichia and Osram see horticulture LED lighting a growing market with expanding applications. Apart from the well-known application of vertical farming supplementary lighting for greenhouses is also a major growing segment for horticulture LED lighting. A recent study published agriculture journal Agronomy demonstrated that LED lighting can improve yield and precocity of greenhouse tomatoes in the Mediterranean, where sunlight is considered sufficient comparing to other region. Researchers of the University o...

LED applications covering lighting and disinfection have become crucial technologies to support people’s safety when COVID-19 is still posing a threat globally. During the pandemic, technology builders continue to enhance applications and create new possibility to leverage the functions of LEDs aiming to provide safer environments for people. Enlighted, a IoT platform provider, added workplace digital contact tracing application to its IoT platform to help employees return safely to manufacturing facilities, pharmaceutical labs, offices and more. The application pr...

A research team led by Shin-Tson Wu, Professor from the College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, USA, conducted a comprehensive analysis on the current display technologies: LCD, OLED, Mini LED and Micro LED. The researchers analyze the performance of self-emitting Mini LED, Micro LED and OLED display, as well as Mini LED backlit LCD, evaluating the power consumption and ambient contrast ratio of each display in depth and systematically compared the dynamic range, motion picture response time, color gamut, and adaptabili...

As COVID-19 sweeping across the world, most large scale activities have been cancelled, rescheduled or moved online. So are the fashion events. Milano Fashion Week is now hosted entirely online from July 14 to 17 and people in the city can see the shows on the large LED signage provided by Samsung hanging on Duomo Cathedral. (Image: Samsung) By moving the showcase online, the organizer of the event, the National Chamber of Italian Fashion and Urban Vision, streaming partner of the Milano Digital Fashion Week, hopes to offer fans of fashion and design a sen...

We have now learned that COVID-19 is transmitted through droplets or surfaces contact of the infected individuals. As a result, wearing mask and intensifying disinfection are considered effective ways to prevent infection. Combining above two solutions, a UVC LED embedded mask was developed and raised more than US$ 1 million on a crowdfunding platform. (Image: UM System) The product, named UVMask, was launched by UM System, a subsidiary of Measure Inc. focusing on optical and bio-technology, on June 25, 2020. According to UM System, UVMask is a reus...

Since many places have ended lockdowns and return to usual life but the threat of COVID-19 continues, it is important to maintain social distance and intensify disinfection in public areas. UV light disinfection, which has been a popular application ever since the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak, is now supported by scientists as an effective solution to prevent COVID-19 transmission for indoor environment. A study recently published in ACS Nano by experts in the fields of virology, immunology, aerosols, architecture, and physics, have surveyed the possible methods t...

LiDAR sensor developer Quanergy Systems shared that its new generation QORTEX People Counter solution can deliver over 98% accuracy from pitch dark or indoor to very bright lighting conditions in full sun light. By combining the system with Quanergy’s LiDAR product, a wide range of flow management can be deployed to enhance security and safety in public areas especially at the critical time of reopen. According Quanergy, QORTEX People Counter provides information about the flow and number of people in retail stores, public transportation centers, stadiu...

A new study reveals how outdoor artificial lighting at night links with sleep and mental disorder of adolescents. Researchers of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that teenagers who live in areas that have high levels of artificial light at night tend to get less sleep and are more likely to have a mood disorder comparing to teens who live in areas with low levels of night-time light. The research, titled “Association of Outdoor Artificial Light at Night with Mental Disorders and Sleep Patterns among US Adolescents,” was based on a cro...

GE Current and Pointr announced their partnership to leverage the edge of smart lighting based on IoT technology for safe reopens of large buildings. Especially at the time when COVID-19 still post threat to the communities. The smart lighting technology of GE Current combined with Pointr’s location-based services developed enhanced space management applications for retailers, warehouses and industrial premises. Through mobile devices, owners of buildings and public areas can understand the precise location of employees and visitors. (Image: GE Current) G...

Self-driving technology startup Aurora announced its self-developed LiDAR sensor FirstLight LiDAR last week. The LiDAR sensor was tested on Aurora’s test vehicles to help the perception system to see and track objects farther, faster, and with greater precision. (Image: Aurora) Aurora acquired LiDAR company Blackmore last year eyeing the expertise of FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) technology. FMCW LiDAR delivers a constant stream of light and changes the frequency of that light at regular intervals. With the technology, Auro...

Vuzix, who focusing on smart glasses and AR technology, announced the recent granting of a series of patents and patents pending, focused on wearable computer and AR smart glasses. The company said that its patent portfolio has grown from 90 patents and patents pending to 166 over the last 36 months. Vuzix’ patent portfolio encompasses a range of IP including waveguides with holographic optics, laser and Micro LED display integration, fashion forward industrial designs and optics that support low cost single layer waveguides to multilayer large field of view solutions. ...

People usually only know that UV light is viable to kill bacteria and viruses, but they are not aware of the details about wavelength or ililluminance. For the manufacturers who had planned to end production of conventional lighting, this UVC trend for lamps become a big surprise. Take Signify for example, it is magnifying product categories and lines and invested UV lamp producer, GLA, in Netherland, indicating that the heat of UVC conventional lamp will not fade away in short. As a connector supplier, Amphenol LTW Technology has been collaborating with manufactur...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created severe impacts on the global economics. People around the world are getting used to a new lifestyle in response to the crisis as well. In order to prevent infection, UV technology applications are returning to the center of the industry. UVC, with the wavelengths between 200 – 280 nanometers (nm) and can deactivate bacteria and viruses, is gaining unprecedented attention in particular. In the past few months, the effects of UVC light on coronaviruses have been discussed and reported. LED manufactures also hurriedly devoted to UV...

A research team from South Korea developed a new method to power medical implants using active photonic wireless system incorporating Micro LED that can be attached on skin and a photovoltaic device that integrated with medical implant. Medical implants such as pacemakers help to monitor and regulate physical condition of people to support efficient medical treatment. These devices usually need a constant source of energy to operate, resulting in issues of power supply. Batteries and wired power also create limitation for applications. For example, when battery power gets exhau...

US-based LED video display supplier Daktronics announced that it has provided 80 LED display units to a Jordan media service company Seagulls for their city-wide project in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Of the 80 LED displays provided for this project, 50 featured 2 square meters and 30 featured 8 square meters of digital space. All 80 units employed 3.9 mm line spacing for up-close viewing distances. These units are installed across the city of Amman to share digital advertising messages to passersby. The installation took place between 2019 and 2020. (Imag...

Fluence by Osram, the horticulture LED lighting solution provider, announced the expansion of its global photobiology research program, which encompasses studies on multiple vine crops, leafy greens and medical cannabis in the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Fluence leverages a network of leading research institutions and partners for its program, including Wageningen University & Research (WUR) for tomatoes; Proefstation voor de Groenteteelt (Proefstation) to study cucumbers; Harrow Research and Development Centre for peppers; Th...

The arrival of Mini LED in the latest competition of display technology has not only laid down the foundation for the next generation of Micro LED display technology, but also became the new opportunity in breaking through the predicament for the LED industry and panel manufacturers. As invigorated by the aggressive involvement from major brands including Apple, multiple Mini LED backlight products and the application of RGB self-luminous displays are now on the verge of commencement, and the new products for the relevant application are expected to enter substantially i...

Mini LED and Micro LED, the novel display technologies based on LED, have lit up the industry which long suffered from low price competition. As worldwide companies and research institutes pouring resources into technology development in the past years and building up partnerships to formulate new ecosystem, several Micro and Mini LED achievements were revealed. Display products using Mini LED backlight are launched and Micro LED prototypes also continue to achieve breakthroughs. (Image: Pixabay) Apple’s rumor of launching Mini LED backlight techn...

Samsung announced that its outdoor LED products were exclusively used to build SoFi Stadium’s 70,000 square-foot (6503 square meters) dual-sided center-hung videoboard and five levels of fascia display which will be used to elevate the fan experience to unparalleled heights. The state-of-the-art videoboard not only features the most LEDs ever used in a sports or entertainment venue, but also has the first and only 4K end-to-end video production in a stadium. The videoboard used nearly 80 million pixels, achieving the largest LED content playback system ever deployed....

How artificial lighting could provide full spectrum for plants has been an issue addressed by agri-tech experts. Apart from LEDs, a new study of ITMO University provide a new approach by creating light with ceramics. Scientists from ITMO in collaboration with their colleagues from Tomsk Polytechnic University came up with an idea to create light sources from ceramics with the addition of chrome that deliver not only red but also infrared (IR) light to enhance growth of plants. The results were published in Optical Materials. (Image: Anastasiia Babkina/ITMO...

Aiming to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection and diminish coronavirus, UVC radiation has been widely promoted and applied in disinfection. But UVC radiation exposure could also lead to damage on skin and eye for human and animals. Finding a way to safely deploy UVC light has thus become a target for researchers all over the world. Far-UVC with a wavelength of 222 nm is considered a safe alternative in UVC disinfection as many researchers found that the light can effectively deactivate germs and viruses without causing harm for people. A new study led by researc...

A research led by researchers of UCL (University College London) revealed that staring at a deep red light for three minutes a day can significantly improve declining eyesight. Based on the result of the study, scientists believe that new affordable home-based eye therapies could be develop, helping the millions of people globally with naturally declining vision. Lead author, Professor Glen Jeffery (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology) indicated that people’s visual system declines significantly once over 40 as cells in the eye's retina begin to age. Cell’s mi...

Velodyne Lidar announced two new business partners and is going to leverage its LiDAR sensing technologies for people flow monitoring and automation at one of the busiest seaport. Velodyne signed a multi-year partnership agreement with Outsight, who offers solutions of Smart Cities monitoring. Outsight uses Velodyne Lidar sensing technology in its 3D Semantic Camera system that helps businesses and governments improve the analysis and management of people flow and assets in large crowded environments. LiDAR sensors enable 3D capture and tracking of people and object...

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) have partnered to develop American National Standards for the measurement and characterization of UV-C device performance in disinfection. Through this partnership IES and IUVA aim to cooperatively promote awareness of and improve the application of UV disinfection technology in the healthcare system by establish measuring standard for UV disinfecting products including light sources of UV lamps and UV LEDs. (Image: Pixabay) Since UVC radiation...

Via photoplethysmography (PPG), red light and infrared LEDs can receive date from the environment and measure biometric data including heart rate, blood oxygen, blood pressure and blood sugar level. Adopting the sensing components to wearable devices enables a wider range of applications with many leading brands working on launching related products. (Image: Pixabay) A patent Apple received earlier this year describes how Apple Watch could analyze composition of water and determine the pH level of user’s sweat through the sensing components like short-wave infrared...

Study Shows the Impacts of Lighting in Our Daily Life Many researches have indicated that lighting plays a critical role for human wellbeing and can significantly affect our productivity. The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute published a study in 2018*, demonstrating that circadian-effective lighting installed in office buildings can help workers to reduce sleepiness and increase alertness and energy. “Circadian-effective” lighting describes light source delivering effective photic stimulus that suppress melatonin, which often re...

The City of Jersey City in the U.S. is launching the municipal vertical farming program together with vertical farm technology supplier AeroFarms and World Economic Forum. The program is aim to support healthy diet for people living in area and spark awareness. The initiative will establish 10 vertical farms throughout Jersey City located in senior centers, schools, public housing complexes, and municipal buildings. The 10 sites will grow 19,000 pounds of vegetables annually using water mist and minimal electricity. The food will be free to the public. (Image: AeroF...

New display technologies Mini LED and Micro LED are bringing new opportunities to the industry. Many companies are thus trying to develop new strategies and form alliances with the aim to occupy a leading position in the market. Recently, Taiwan-based LED companies Epistar and Lextar announced their integration for leveraging their expertise to accelerate technology development in Mini LED and Micro LED technologies, hoping to win more business opportunities. Apart from LED manufacturers, panel makers have also geared up to push commercialization of the new di...

Signify announced its partnership with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to support the Smart Street Lighting NY project of the state. The Smart Street Lighting NY program was launched in 2018 with the aim to replace streetlights in New York State. Signify is going to provide its Interact City IoT lighting system to connect LED luminaires and further help cities of the state to reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint. To date, more than 50,000 LED streetlights have been installed or are currently being installed under the program. (Im...

Scientists at the Circadian Light Research Center published their new finding in the Journal of Biological Rhythms pointing out the narrow band of blue light that synchronizes our circadian rhythms during the day and disrupts them at night. The study could help lighting fixtures and LEDs to be further engineered and designed to optimize human health. Blue light exposure at night is a well-established public health hazard. It suppresses melatonin, causes circadian disruption, and is linked to an increased risk of sleep disorders, obesity, diabetes, and breast and prostate can...