Lumotive, the Bill Gates-funded startup developing LiDAR systems for autonomous vehicles, and Himax Display, a subsidiary of Himax Technologies, announced their collaboration on beam steering technology in LiDAR systems that integrates Himax’s Liquid-Crystal-On-Silicon (LCOS) technology with Lumotive’s patented Liquid Crystal Metasurfaces™ (LCMs). With the partnership, the two companies aim to improve the performance, reliability and cost of LiDAR systems for enabling advanced ADAS and automotive vehicle technologies. Lumotive lev...

Seoul Semiconductor announced that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Conrad Electronic again in the District Court of Manheim, Germany. In July, Seoul Semiconductor has filed the first litigation involving mobile phone products against Conrad in the District Court of Düsseldorf in Germany. According to the second complaint raised by Seoul, LEDs for flashlights of mobile phones sold by Conrad are infringing Seoul’s patent. The patented technology in this litigation is “the Roughened Light Extraction Surface” technology that e...

After Osram agreed to waive the standstill agreement with AMS, the Austrian company made a counter offer with the price of EUR 38.5 per share in cash to take over the German firm on September 3, 2019. Shareholders of Osram have an acceptance period until October 2019 to decide on the acquisition plan. The offer of AMS raised a bidding war with Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group, who proposed a takeover offer of EUR 35 per share to acquire Osram. AMS underlined that “our offer and the combination of Osram and AMS represents a better option to all sta...

Mini LED has been viewed as the technology to confront OLED in display applications. Industry players from Taiwan possessing expertise in LEDs and LCD see the opportunity and are accelerating their technology development, aiming to boost the LED industry. Chip maker Epistar and vertical integrated LED company Lextar both demonstrated a wide range of Mini LED products including Mini LED backlit displays for gaming notebook, monitors, automotive panels and large sized Mini LED RGB displays for outdoor signage. Automotive applications are the targe...

Several exhibitors attending Touch Taiwan 2019 showcased their latest Micro LED displays and applications at the show including Taiwan-based panel manufacturer AU Optronics (AUO) presenting a 12.1-inch Micro LED automotive display. Paul Peng, chairman of AUO, indicated that commercialized Micro LED products will hit the market in one to two years. The panel market showed decline in 2019 due to soft global economy and the U.S.-China trade dispute. Despite that AUO has also been impacted by the slow growth, the company is pushing high value products deve...

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...

Taiwan-based LED packager Everlight announced that the High Court of Australia has rendered the final judgment on August 7, 2019, denying Nichia’s appeal request. The Court has decided that the asserted claims of Nichia’s Australia patent 720234 are invalid. The Court has affirmed that Everlight’s products of Arrow did not infringe Nichia’s patent. Everlight affirmed the result of judgment and won the final victory by defending its customers' rights and interests. Earlier in March, Everlight reported that the Federal Court of Austral...

Austria lighting company Tridonic under the Zumtobel Group announced the appointment of new CEO, Hedwig Maes, who will take the position starting September 1, 2019. (Image: Tridonic) The previous CEO, Guido van Tartwijk, left the company at the end of last year. Hedwig Maes will take over the tast and report directly to Alfred Felder, CEO of the Zumtobel Group. Maes, who was born in Belgium, gained 32 years of professional experience in the areas of electronics, industrial automation and industry systems with companies such as General Electric and AB...

Intellectual properties are crucial for technology developers and manufacturers. As a result, the disputes for patented technologies continue to go on. This week, Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) announced its victory of patent infringement litigation and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has begun investigation for the patent infringement case raised by UC Santa Barbara. MCC reported that on July 31 it obtained a judgement recognizing the infringement of its patent for red phosphor in China by the defendants, U.S.-based Intem...

Facing the difficulties in the industry, global LED companies developed their strategies trying to keep their business prospering. LEDinside analyzed the different approaches of worldwide LED manufacturers. For Taiwanese LED manufacturers, Micro LED and Mini LED technologies have directed them into a new field where they have a better chance to rival with competitors from China and Korea. Korean and Japanese LED suppliers, on the other hand, target niche products for novel applications such as UV LEDs and LEDs with wavelengths that are similar to natu...

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...

In December 2018, Seoul Semiconductor announced that it has won a patent infringement lawsuit against Mouser Electronics for selling LED products that infringe Seoul’s patent. Everlight later responded in January 2019 that it would continue to guard its right and claim patent invalidity against Seoul Semiconductor. However, Seoul’s latest announcement reported that the District Court of Düsseldorf in Germany issued a permanent injunction against the sales of the accused products manufactured by Everlight and ordered the distributor to recall the pr...

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...

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...

Lextar will present Micro LED display and its Mini LED series products at Touch Taiwan during August 28 to 30. The vertical integrated LED company is also releasing a new series of Mini LED ready for mass production. The products include I-Mini Blue and UFP I-Mini RGB display with a pitch size of 0.7mm. Lextar will exhibit its latest development, a 5.1-inch transparent AM Micro LED display. According to Lextar, the Micro LED display can achieve a brightness of 30,000nits by assembling flip chip Micro LED on the transparent glass. Meanwh...

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...

Cree posted financial results of its fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 and the whole fiscal year. For fiscal 4Q19 which ends on June 30, 2019, Cree registered a revenue of US$251.2 million for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, down by 5% YoY and 8% QoQ. GAAP net loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter was US$34.6 million, or US$0.33 per diluted share. On a non-GAAP basis, net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 was US$11.5 million, or US$0.11 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income from continuing o...

The 8th Touch Taiwan will begin next week on August 28 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Hall. This year, with the expanding exhibition zone of Micro LED and Mini LED Product and Solution, many expect to see innovative technologies and applications at the show. There will be 37 exhibitors including Epistar, Lextar, Macroblock, ASM Pacific Technology, Tory, Topcon showcasing their latest development of Micro LED and Mini LED at Touch Taiwan 2019. Exhibitors of the supply chain will present their technology related to Micro/Mini LED from upstream ...

Automotive component supplier Magna announced the opening of a new electronics manufacturing facility in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, USA. The facility consolidates three nearby locations into a single site which occupies 21,367.7 square meters (230,000 square foot). (Image: Magna) With nearly US$ 50 million investment, Magna expects the new facility to accelerate large-scale deployment of future technologies such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), advanced robotics and Micro LED lighting. Magna built partnership with Micro LED technology p...

UV LEDs are recently replacing mercury light as UV light source for disinfection applications. German researchers have developed a UV LED based disinfection system to purify brewing water and clean the caps for bottled beer and soft drinks. Researchers at the Advanced System Technology (AST) branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB in Ilmenau, Germany, have cooperated in collaboration with PURION, a UV technology solution provider, to create UV LED based purifying module to destroy germs...

Osram said that it has begun talking with AMS on a Business Combination Agreement since August 13, aiming a publication of AMS' takeover offer before the end of September 5. According to Osram, both parties will continue to carefully assess the details the agreement and hope to reach the common goal that ams will be able to start its tender period during the offer period of the existing takeover offer from the financial investors Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group, thus before the end of September 5, 2019. AMS submitted the proposal to Osram on October 11...

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that addition tariffs on certain Chinese-made consumer items will be delayed until December 15 for avoiding the holiday shopping season, according to President Trumps. As a result, USTR has announced two new lists for products with extra tariffs effective on September 1, 2019, and those effective on December 15, 2019. Several items were removed from the tariffs list due to health, safety, national security and other factors, according to USTR. Original list has covered LED products include “Ball...

Mini LED and Micro LED technologies have been the focal point of many Taiwanese LED manufacturers as they attempt to get away from severe price competition with Chinese companies. However, as Micro LED requires higher technology integration as well as production cost, Mini LED becomes an easier target. Vertical integrated LED company Lextar has begun organization restructure since 2018, cutting off LED fixture manufacture and prioritizing Mini LED research and development. Mini LED backlight and signage are the two major areas focused by Lextar. ...

As the industry enters high season, LED chip maker Epistar reported revenue increase with rising demands for consumer products. Epistar registered a revenue of NT$1.396 billion (US$44.32 million) in July, which reached a peak in the past three month with an on-month increase of 14.24%. For 2Q19, the company posted revenues of NT$ 4.027 billion (US$1.279 billion), dropped by 23.95%YoY and 7.3%QoQ. The company has been suffered from operation loss in the past few quarters with market uncertainty caused by the on-going trade dispute between the U.S. and China. D...

Sensor maker AMS officially joined the bidding competition for Osram takeover against Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group. Osram confirmed the proposal from AMS on August 12 and will start negotiations with AMS. AMS announced on August 11 that it has submitted a takeover proposal to Osram at a price of EUR 38.50 per share (US$ 43.08), which is 10 percent higher than the price offered by Bain and Carlyle (EUR 35 per share). Based on the AMS’ offer, the value of Osram is around EUR 4.3 billion (US$ 4.81 billion).   The sensor maker a...

When and in what product Apple will adopt Micro LED display technology has been an ongoing topic for the industry. Apple Watch and AR/VR smart glasses were the two products that are most likely to adopt Micro LED according to industry rumors as well as Apple’s revealed patents. On August 1, 2019, a new Micro LED display patent applied by Apple was published in Europe, reported Patently Apple. The patent abstract described that it states the structure and methods of Micro LED display fabrication, including how LEDs are transferred to a carrier subst...

Fluence by OSRAM announced that it will become the LED provider of choice for The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD), an organic cannabis company based in Ontario, Canada. TGOD will use Fluence LED lighting solutions for year-round cannabis cultivation, pushing its production capabilities to meet rapidly increasing global demand for organic cannabis. Fluence will supply its high-bay VYPR lighting solutions in two additional hybrid greenhouses of TGOD which measures over 1.4 million square feet. These new facilities will open in phases starting August 2019 ...

On August 1, 2019, President Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on US$300 billion Chinese imports which will come into effect in September. The new listed products which will be imposed with taxes also include several LED products. LED products that are listed in the new 10% tariff list include “Ballasts for discharge lamps or tubes”, “electrical lighting equipment of a kind used on bicycles”, “flashlights”, and a series of electrical filament lamps, as well as LED lamps. (Image: Pixabay) According to data from the Chi...