OSRAM Sylvania, the manufacturer of automotive lighting and College for Creative Studies (CCS), one of the world's preeminent schools of transportation design are proud to announce the kick-off of the first annual OSRAM Automotive Lighting Design Challenge on Oct. 8, 2009. The 2009 OSRAM Automotive Lighting Design Challenge is designed to help educate future transportation designers on the many benefits of advanced LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting technologies and the design freedom they offer.

The infrared Platinum DRAGON from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors provides a high radiance from a small surface. With its 1 mm² thin-film chip in stack technology it generates an optical output of almost 1 W from a driving current of 1 A – that’s almost twice the output of the standard chips that have been used up to now. The viewing angle and radiant intensity can be varied with standard secondary optics. Preferred applications are those which require high radiance so that small optics can be used.

Germany is initiating a trend in Europe – with the first highway service area equipped with brilliant modern LED lighting at the A24 in Walsleben, the Federal Ministry of Traffic is setting international standards. LED street lighting is the future technology - as they are remarkably lighter, more energy-efficient and have longer lifetime. Security is enhanced as dark areas and long shadows belong to the past. The pilot project in Walsleben East will demonstrate the superior performance of LED technology.

OSRAM and Safegate jointly develop robust and efficient LED lighting for taxiways. The ever-increasing volume of passengers and freight in global air traffic makes greater demands on safety too. Because of its major impact on passenger safety, airport operators are paying special attention to the lighting of runways for take-off, landing and taxiing.

Seoul Semiconductor has recently announced that Havells Sylvania, one of Europe’s largest lighting companies, released Concord Stadium spotlight range using Seoul Semiconductor’s Z-Power LED P4 series products.

OSRAM’s LED technology contributes to the energy efficiency of Volkswagen’s L1 concept car presented at the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA). The vehicle, which according to Volkswagen can go into production in 2013, has headlights that are equipped with new OSRAM Joule JFL2 LED systems and matching reflectors. The LED modules take care of the dipped and main beam functions and consume far less energy than conventional headlamps.

With the growing trend towards the use of LEDs for innovative lamp and lighting concepts, Bayer MaterialScience has developed new grades of its transparent Makrolon® polycarbonate specifically for the production of these modern light sources.

OSRAM today releases its redesigned LED deSIGNer tool for illuminated advertising. The new tool offers as of now extended functions, which make the planning and implementation of backlighting applications easier than ever. In only six steps users can design their required backlighting including all the components online at www.osram.com/led-designer.

Sharp Electronics announced the availability of its range of AQUOS Full Screen LED backlight LCD TVs for commercial use. Originally introduced to the world’s media in August this year, the ultra-low energy, affordable LE600 and LE700 televisions are expected to be popular for digital signage and multimedia applications. The LE600 is available in 32”, 40” and 46” models with the LE700 spanning the same range with the addition of a 52” model.

Taking place for the second year in 2009, the Jazz:Re:Found festival is fast becoming an Italian answer to that most famous of jazz festivals held in Montreux, Switzerland. This year Lighthouse Technologies became a technical sponsor of the three day event, providing two LED screens and technical expertise throughout.

Seoul Semiconductor announced that units of its Z-Power LED P5-II series were applied to display visual information for public bike racks of Vélib, a public bicycle rental program in Paris.

Lumenova GmbH, Esslingen, a PSI Group company and JENOPTIK Polymer Systems GmbH, Triptis, part of the Jenoptik Optical Systems division, have concluded a wide-ranging strategic alliance in the area of LED lighting.

Valeo unveils a world first: a new technology that will transform lighting and signaling systems. The 3D-effect technology, used in the front and rear position lamps, adds substantial depth to the perceived image, despite being only 25 mm thick. It is based on the principle of the multiple reflection of light from LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and opens up significant new styling possibilities.

Traxon Technologies announced that it has realized an outstanding IMAGIC WEAVE media facade in Germany at HAVER & BOECKER’s office building in Oelde.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors released a new addition to its LED range: the Oslon MX ECE. This low-cost high-power ceramic component is intended for the front light clusters of mid-range vehicles – mainly as daytime running lights. This new LED is an important addition to OSRAM’s extensive product portfolio for the automotive sector.

Philips Lumileds officially moved automotive forward lighting ahead with release of its LUXEON® Altilon power LEDs. Its small size, high brightness, and lower energy consumption make LUXEON Altilon a perfect choice for the next generation of advanced forward lighting solutions, high and low beam applications, daytime running lamps, static bending lamps and position lamps.

System Solutions, part of the Gearhouse South Africa Group of Companies, has been awarded a 39 million South African Rand contract by the City of Johannesburg to supply and install a High Definition IPTV, digital signage video distribution system as well as two large format, high resolution outdoor LED screens at the brand new flagship Soccer City Stadium venue.

Novaled AG, a company dedicated to energy saving and long living OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), and Plextronics, Inc., an international company that specializes in conductive organic inks for printed lighting, solar and other electronics, recently announced that they have agreed to jointly develop doped and solution processed organic materials for OLED applications.

The new OSRAM LEDstixx offers discerning design devotees a striking and decorative form of LED lighting. Measuring some 22 cm in length, the rounded silver light stick has four LEDs along its lateral side, lending it the look of a gleaming magic wand. With a multitude of different mounting options, it can conjure a glow around all those features that are crying out for accentuation.

Toshiba UK announced the market arrival of the REGZA SV series in the UK market. The REGZA SV series is the first range to combine Toshiba’s Resolution+ technology, Active Vision M200HD picture processing and an LED backlight. The inclusion of an LED backlight offers dynamic contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1, with 10 Bit processing creating a palette of over a billion colours to completely eliminate banding.

Kinoton GmbH has announced the availability of the Litefast MAGIC 360° Display, a crystal-clear 360-degrees LED display.

Lund (Sweden) based nanowire semiconductor LED developer GLO AB today announced the closing of an SEK 82 million Series B investment round.

Following a successful trial of an innovative LED rail carriage lighting technology from Marl International Ltd, Porterbrook Leasing Company estimates that the technology could not only save 20 million kWh, but also improve the ambiance and reduce maintenance costs.

Demonstrating that LED lighting is now viable for large-scale exterior applications, Philips Color Kinetics announced Monday two new floodlights with light output of more than 8,500 lumens - a first in high-quality exterior LED floodlighting.  

The Holiday Inn brand is currently undergoing a $1 billion global relaunch—the largest in the hospitality industry with more than 3,200 hotels being updated to improve quality and drive consistency at Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels around the world. A redesign of the iconic brand logo required new exterior signage for over 3,200 locations.

Lighting Science Group Corporation (LSG) and Royal Philips Electronics today announced that they have settled all of their commercial and intellectual property disputes by way of a comprehensive agreement that revives their former commercial alliance.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK has upheld complaints that advertisements for Samsung televisions were misleading, with the words "LED TV Next Generation TV" singled out in particular. And it ordered the company not to use the advertisements again. The ads, that appeared on TV (with print versions too), stated "Samsung LED technology brings you sharper images, deeper blacks and brighter colours. The ultra slim Samsung LED TV. The next generation of television has arrived".

Optoga claims that its OptoDrive modules have achieved CRI Ra above 95 in an independent spectral distribution test performed by the Swedish national test institute, SP.

As the smallest 1 W LEDs for backlighting LCD displays, the two white versions of the Oslon LX from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors provide strong light that can be very efficiently injected into thin light guides with the aid of an optimized lens. The displays can therefore be made ultra-thin and can be uniformly illuminated even with single-side injection.

Greggs Plc, the UK’s leading bakery retailer, has adopted LED light sources from Philips at its new concept store in Bromley, Kent. Compared to stores using conventional lighting, the new installation is expected to achieve a 50% saving in lighting energy consumption, with a reduction in carbon emissions of 2 tonnes per annum. The low heat output of these LED fittings will also reduce air conditioning requirements to enable further energy savings during the summer months.