Signify, the largest lighting company in the world, reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year of 2018. With increased LED-based sales, the company announced improved adjusted EBITA margin for the fourth quarter of 2018. For the fourth quarter of 2018, Signify posted a revenue of EUR 1.73 billion (US$ 1.96 billion), dropped by 8.8% YoY. The adjusted gross margin was EUR 647 million (US$731.93 million) which declined 11.6% YoY. However, the adjusted EBITA of 4Q18 grew by 3.2% YoY at 214 million. For full year of 2018, the ...

Velodyne LiDAR announced that it has provided LiDAR sensors for a new autonomous driving technology from HoloMatic to provide autonomous parking service to free travelers from the burden of time-consuming searches for parking spots. The HoloMatic system, called HoloParking, is China’s first smart valet parking solution that operates 24/7 and in all weather conditions. Unlike parking assistance systems, HoloParking does not require the vehicle to be driven next to a parking spot. Rather, it allows a driver to leave a vehicle at the entrance of the parking lot. U...

Samsung Electronics announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year of 2018. The revenue and profit of 4Q18 declined due to global market uncertainty but Samsung still reached its annual goal in fiscal 2018. For 4Q18, Samsung posted a KRW 59.27 trillion (US$ 53.22 billion) quarterly revenue, which decreased by 10 percent YoY. The quarterly operating profit was KRW 10.8 trillion (US$9.7 billion), with an on-year decline of 29 percent. The yearly revenue for fiscal 2018 was KRW 243.77 trillion (US$ 218.9 billion) and operating profit cam...

Cree announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2019, ended December 30, 2018. Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2019 was US$413 million, up by 12% YoY. GAAP net loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2019 was US$2 million, or $0.02 per diluted share. This compares to a GAAP net income of $14 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2018. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2019 was $23 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net loss for the second quarter of...

After revealing its sluggish business performance, Osram announced that it will strengthen its automotive business by acquiring aftermarket specialist Ring Automotive. With the acquisition, Osram plans to expand its aftermarket portfolio and reach end customers via the distribution channels of Ring Automotive in the UK. In addition, Ring's specialization in electronic car accessories complements Osram’s product range. Moreover, Osram will give the ring portfolio access to the US market via the established Osram Sylvania channels and opens up new sales pote...

Seoul Semiconductor reported its 2018 fiscal year consolidated revenue of KRW 1194.2 billion (US$1.07 billion) with an operating profit of KRW 99 billion (US$ 88.6 million), as well as a net income of KRW 65.4 billion (US$ 58.53 million) to report two year consecutive sales growth. As a result of stabilization of Seoul Semiconductor’s new manufacturing plant in Vietnam and improved product mix, the consolidated fourth quarter revenue increased by 6% YoY to KRW 300.6 billion (US$ 269.04 million), while operating profit amounted to KRW 36.2 billion (US...

Sanan Optoelectronics, the largest LED epitaxy wafer manufacturer in China, announced that it has received funds from its strategic investors including Quanzhou Financial Holding, the China Industrial International Trust, and An Xin Capital. The three organizations plan to provide a joint investment of at least CNY 5.4 billion (US$801.64 million) to Sanan and Quanzhou Financial Holding will offer liquidity assistance of CNY 600 million (US$ 89 million). Sanan Optoelectronics has been through a financial crisis in January with its stock price dropped ...

China-based LED display solution provider Absen announced that it is showcasing three new narrow pixel pitch (NPP) product series at ISE 2019 which is taking place during February 5-8 in Amsterdam. The new display series with Integrated Matrix Device (IMD) and Common Cathode (CC) technologies provide five times the strength as traditional LED screens whilst consuming 20% less power. By combining the two technologies in an innovative way, Absen has further reduced the pixel pitch of its LED screens whilst ensuring maximum durability. Absen’s new A...

Velodyne LiDAR has begun partnership with Postmates, a food delivery startup, by providing its LiDAR sensors to Postmates Serve, innovative self-driving rover providing services for short-distance deliveries. (Image: Postmates) The autonomous rover is equipped with Velodyne’s market-leading VLP-16 Puck™ sensor, which is built into the top of the rover for a high-performance surround view, enabling Serve to detect people and objects as it completes local deliveries. Serve can carry 50 lbs and go 30 miles on a single charge. Also, it can interact wit...

Driving LED by constant power mode has been a popular topic recently. Why do LEDs must be driven by the constant current? Why not with a constant power source? Before discussing the above issue, we have to understand why the LED must be driven by a constant current. As shown in Figure (a) LED I-V curve, when the LED forward voltage changed about 2.5%, the current through the LED will correspondingly change about 16%, and forward voltage of the LED is easily affected by junction temperature. The change of high and low temperature may even make the voltage chan...

2019 may not be a prosperous year for LED manufacturers given the market uncertainties resulting from the changing global politics. Yet, industry players continue their technology developments and expect Mini LED to revive the stagnant market. Mini LED, as an improved version of conventional LED, provides refined diming zones when serving as backlight and can be utilized in curved displays when coupled with flexible substrates. Since last year, several LED makers including Lextar have begun shipping Mini LED backlight products for high end applications such as gami...

Flexible and foldable panels have created a sensation since Royole and Samsung introduced their foldable phones by the end of 2018. Soon after that, LG revealed a stunning rollable TV at CES 2019. Flexible OLED displays are getting more attentions with products launched in the market in 2019. Samsung is expected to launch its folding smartphone in February 20 while its rival LG is also set to reveal a foldable smartphone soon. Meanwhile, Chinese smartphone makers including Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei have all announced their plans of releasing folding phones in this y...

2019 has just begun but this year seems to be a tough one for global LED manufacturers with continuous global market uncertainty caused by the US-China dispute. Osram, the German representative of the LED industry, unveiled its weak business performance of the first quarter of its fiscal 2019 with a 15 percent YoY revenue drop. The company noted that the revenue for coming quarters might remain “significantly low” due to the general political uncertainties. Taiwanese LED maker Everlight is not optimistic about 2019 either. Robert Yeh, the CEO of E...

Unilumin, the Chinese LED application products and integrated solutions provider, announced that it is capable to mass produce 0.9mm Mini LED and will launch Mini LED solution at ISE 2019. Meanwhile, the company also reported that it is investing a new smart manufacturing facility for the development and production of Mini/Micro LED. According to Unilumin, it is the first to mass-produce 0.9 mm LED for high-end applications which is solving previous technical barriers and addressing the issue of the high cost of traditional SMD display. (Image: Unilumin...

Osram announced that in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, the company is facing an on-year revenue decline due to the weak Chinese market under the impact of the on-going US-China trade dispute. According to Osram, the declining market in the end of 2018 has led to poor performance of its three business units, Opto Semiconductor, Automotive and Digital. The revenue of Osram for its fiscal 1Q19 was EUR 828 million (US$ 938 million) with a 15 percent YoY decrease. And the Opto Semiconductors unit recorded a 16.9 percent decline in revenue on a comparable basis...

LEDVANCE, the maker of SYLVANIA general lighting in the United States and Canada, announced that global CEO Lawrence Lin will assume managing director responsibilities for the United States and Canada on an interim basis, in addition to his current responsibilities. Jim Johnson, who previously held the position, left the company this month. (Image: LEDVANCE) Lawrence Lin became the CEO and Managing Director of global LEDVANCE in November 2018. He commented, “LEDVANCE continues to evolve to deliver innovative lighting ...

In the beginning of 2019, GE Lighting announced that it is deepening its C by GE portfolio which features hub-free IoT smart lighting with Google Assistant control. The Made-for-Google products are able to connect with Google’s system and be controlled via app on smartphones or portable devices. The connected lights allow app and voice control for changing the color of lights and tuning brightness. Furthermore, they can also combine smart accessories including smart wall plug and motion sensor to manage lighting away from home and by movement. (Image: GE) E...

At this year’s CES event, French Li-Fi company Oledcomm presented its new Li-Fi module, LiFiMAX, which provides high speed internet through invisible light and brings the technology a step forward. Oledcomm released the first ceiling Li-Fi module for information transfer which can offer high speed internet connection of 100Mbps in downlink data rate and 40Mpbs uplink. According to Oledcomm, LiFiMax can provide connection to 16 users simultaneously with coverage of 28 square meters. (Image: Oledcomm) Benjamin Azoulay, president of Oledcomm, explain...

AIXTRON announced that the company will supply multiple AIX 2800G4-TM (IC2) cluster systems to San’an Optoelectronics. The Chinese chipmaker with its long-term plan for the rising market demands for fine pitch displays requires a capacity increase in red, orange and yellow LEDs (ROY LEDs). AIXTRON’s AIX 2800G4-TM (IC2) tools will feature a configuration of 15x4 inches and are scheduled for shipment between 4Q18 and 2Q19.

Signify announced an innovative creation of virtual reality (VR) development for its customers. With the new lighting VR apps, Philips Fashion Lighting VR and Philips Urban VR, users can immerse themselves in the virtual world to visualize how lighting can transform their fashion store or city street.

Speaking of the global market uncertainty caused by the disputes between US and China, Maezono noted that due to the extra tariffs imposed on Chinese exports, Japanese companies who own factories in China might move out their facilities. The moving trend will lead to increased cost and thus force companies to transform their facilities, pushing demands for smart factory and robots. As a result, Maezono pointed out that RoboDEX and SMART FACTORY Expo would become even more noticeable. 

Company Introduction: WeBulb Corporation provides a series of XXL Golden LED Filament Light Bulbs. The XXL golden LED bulb, with its unique shape and particular dimensions, is able to furnish and illuminate any room by itself, with the great charm of its warm and golden light.

Osram continues its transformation and moves one more step ahead with sales of its North American services business, Sylvania Lighting Solutions (SLS). WESCO International subsidiary is acquring the business operation of SLS with a price of double-digit million euro. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019. According to Osram, its Management Board has decided in May 2018 to initiate the divestiture of the SLS business. With the aquisition, WESCO will take over the services business with about 220 employees in North America,...

Micro and Mini LED specialist Rohinni announced that it will be forming a joint venture with Chinese panel producer BOE. The collaboration will focus on the production of micro LED lighting solutions for display backlights. The BOE-Rohinni joint venture will be based in China and controlled by BOE, combining BOE's LCD design and manufacturing expertise with Rohinni's Micro LED placement technology. Supported with Rohinni’s placement technology which is capable of placing 50 die-per-second (dps) with 10 micron accuracy at 99.999% die yields...

Thailand, the South East Asian nation that has charted one of the most successful developmental stories in recent times, is no doubt a preferred place for an exhibition with a global outlook. After the successful completion of six editions of LED Expo Thailand, MEX Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. in association with Impact Exhibition Management Co. Ltd., is coming up with yet another chapter of the famed Show in Bangkok. Now christened as LED Expo Thailand + Light ASEAN, the expo aims to bring forth innovations in the world of LED lighting, as well as create aw...

This year at CES, big names for TVs and displays have again geared up with their most attracting products to amaze visitors from all over the world. Large size TV with ultra-high resolution is taking over the market with the leading brands presenting 8K TV. Meanwhile, OLED and Micro LED are still two of the most noticeable display technologies at the show as Samsung revealed its latest Micro LED display and LG showcased the world’s first rollable OLED TV. Micro LED Displays: Samsung, PlayNitride and Sanan Optoelectronics Samsung’s ...

Chinese LED maker Sanan Optoelectronics announced that the company has supplied Mini and Micro LED chips to several panel manufacturers in the products unveiled at CES 2019. Sanan noted that its LED chips have been adopted in TVs, digital displays, smartphones, smart watches, AR/VR glasses, and gaming notebooks. Mini LEDs, with its compact unit size between 100 to 200 micrometers, allow for high density backlight designs with local dimming capabilities. Sanan has begun large-scale production of RGB Mini LEDs and offers a family of RGB display and bac...

LiDAR startup AEye announced that it has extended strategic partnership with automotive lighting supplier HELLA and started collaboration with LG Electronics in developing and manufacturing sensing and perception solutions for autonomous driving. AEye’s iDAR artificial perception system leads the industry in range and scan rate performance for automotive-grade LiDAR. iDAR is a new form of intelligent data collection that fuses 1550 nanometer (nm), solid-state agile LiDAR with a low-light HD camera and embedded AI to intelligently capture data at the...

Hyundai MOBIS is showcasing the latest Communication Lighting concept at CES 2019. Communication Lighting uses an "Indicating Lighting Zone" to indicate when an autonomous vehicle is operating in self-driving mode. The concept also includes a "Communication Lighting Zone" that uses LED, digital boards, headlamp projection and sound to communicate with nearby pedestrians and vehicles during various driving scenarios. According to Hyundai MOBIS, autonomous vehicles outfitted with Communication Lighting can detect a pedestrian from more tha...

AIXTRON announced that it has signed a Joint Collaboration Agreement with PlayNitride to accelerate technical and commercial breakthroughs of Micro LED. AIXTRON’s AIX G5+ C MOCVD system will be adopted by PlayNitride for the manufacturing of GaN-based (gallium nitride) Micro LEDs. PlayNitride has presented Micro LED displays with high resolution and supplied its Micro LED chips to Samsung for the 75-inch Micro LED display demonstrated at CES 2019. By signing a joint collaboration agreement, AIXTRON and PlayNitride ...