Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Arima Optoelectronics Corporation (AOC) recently released its pre-audited earnings report of 2016. Due to a 38.17% increase in revenue and growing demand for AlGaInP LED chips, net loss of the year decreased by a whopping 42.48% and loss per share was also down to NTD 0.57 (USD 0.018), the lowest in nearly six years. With a new wave of demand for high-end AlInGaP LEDs (red LEDs) and IR LEDs, AOC is aiming for turning loss into profit in 2017, but it has to “work extremely hard.”

With the merit of energy efficiency, better visibility and low carbon emissions, LED street lights have been embraced by cities around the world, and the shift toward them has accelerated. However, this does not come without a price. More and more instances of light pollution and light nuisance have been reported, causing much criticism from citizens.

A new wave of LED street lights installation has started across India. According to local media, North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to replace over two lakh (200,000) traditional streetlights with LED lighting across its six zones. There are around 250,000 streetlights in these areas, including park lights and semi High-mast lighting.

Philips Lighting and Cerezo Osaka, the J1 League soccer club, have signed an agreement in which Philips Lighting becomes the club’s ‘official lighting partner.’ The company plans to provide design, consultancy services and advanced LED lighting technology for the club’s stadium and practice pitches. 

Japanese LED giant Nichia Corporation recently announced that the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal in Germany has confirmed that four white LED products by Taiwanese LED manufacturer Harvatek Corporation infringe Nichia’s YAG Patent EP 0 936 682 (DE 697 02 929).

A research team at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) claims it has successfully developed the most energy-efficient LED filament technology with a luminous efficacy of 129lm/W, which represents 1.5 times the efficacy of traditional LED lamps, surpassing all other general lighting tools available in the market.  

South Korean lighting manufacturer Photonics Trade Group (PTG) has secured a KRW 5 billion (USD 4.32 million) deal with French luxury brand Louis Vuitton to supply indoor LED lighting, according to local media ETnews. 

Apple’s plan to adopt OLED panels for its next iPhone series has apparently led to a fierce competition between OLED makers. According to The Wall Street Journal, sources close to the matter confirmed that Japan’s Sharp will invest around 100 billion yen (USD 878 million) to expand OLED production to compete with its rival Samsung Electronics Co,.

Philips Lighting and Globus, a major grocery retailer in Germany, have measured the positive effects of lighting in a joint research project. In collaboration with German Research Center for Artificial Intellifence DFKI and EIT Digital, a series of experiments were conducted at the Globus supermarket in Saarbrücken to study the impact of different combinations of colored lighting on sales and customer behavior. 

Apple is expected to release three new iPhone models later this year, and one of them will feature an OLED display. A new report from South Korea’s The Bell on Monday further suggests that Apple plans to shift all iPhones to OLED displays by 2019.

During the 2017 Chief Analyst Market Seminar, held by LEDinside and CNLED on February 20th, when asked about the future of automotive LED lighting, C.W. Wang, Deputy Director of Automotive Lighting Department, EVERLIGHT, said, “With the adoption of LED lighting and smart technology, the car of the future is more than just transport. This is the trend in automotive LED lighting.”

Philips Lighting and Tarkett, a global provider of innovative and sustainable flooring, announced the launch of Luminous vinyl flooring. The specially developed vinyl tiles are embedded with cutting-edge LED technology that enables retailers to advertise, interact with customers and guide them through any store or building.

As LED market penetration rate continues to increase, global LED market growth has slowed down in recent years. In China, domestic LED chip manufacturers have exceeded a dominant 70% market share. In addition, global companies have increased their packaging capacity in China. It is expected that Chinese LED packaging manufacturers will continue to expand production capacity in 2017.

The sale of LEDVANCE by OSRAM to the Chinese investment consortium, consisting of the strategic investor IDG Capital, the LED packaging manufacturer MLS CO., LTD. (MLS) and Yiwu State-Owned Assets Operation Center (Yiwu), was successfully completed effective on March 3rd, 2017 and with economic effect as of March 1st, 2017. This follows the parties obtaining all necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.

Mikro Mesa Technology, a Micro LED startup from Taiwan, is reported to set up a Micro LED laboratory in Chongqing City, China. It is a collaboration between Mikro Mesa and Chinese Chongqing HKC Optoelectronics Technology, a local TFT-LCD panels maker.

The darkest form of ultraviolet light, known as UV-C, is unique because of its reputation as a killer – of harmful organisms. With wavelengths of between 200 and 280 nanometers, this particular form of UV light penetrates the membranes of viruses, bacteria, mold and dust mites, attacking their DNA and killing them. 

A study by UA researchers revealed that rats with neuropathic pain that were bathed in green LED showed more tolerance for thermal and tactile stimulus. A clinical trial involving people suffering from fibromyalgia is underway.

Chinese LED manufacturer, Elec-Tech International (H.K) Co, Ltd, recently signed a MoU with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics in Shenzhen, China.

Getting your hands dirty while growing plants might soon be something in the past. Aeroponics is an efficient and effective way to grow plants in an air or mist environment without soil and with very little water. It is portable and is suitable for people with limited growing space.

With about six months left before Apple unveils its next generation iPhone, the rumor mill has gone into overdrive. An article from the Wall Street Jounral suggested that Apple would adopt a curved OLED display for one of its three smartphone models this year. 

On 20th February, the "2017 LEDinside Chief Analyst Market Seminar" (Shanghai Station) was successfully held by LEDinside representing TrendForce and CNLED web in Shanghai Parkyard Hotel. Shanghai Wellmax Lighting Industry Co. (hereinafter referred to as "WELLMAX") as the LED Bulb Expert, attended the event as the event’s sponsor. WELLMAX CEO Wang Yamin, head of Procurement Department Ji Lei and other team members exchanged views with many honored guests on the scene. The conference attracted many top LED manufacturers, research centers, testing organizations from home and abroad. The event was covered by 18 media partners. 

AT&T and Current, powered by GE, have announced an exclusive agreement to connect cities across the United States and Mexico to the Internet of Things (IoT). Together, the companies will unlock a realm of possibilities to improve the way cities operate, communicate and meet the needs of citizens.

The trend towards urbanization is continuing and it is projected that by 2050 nearly 70 percent of mankind will reside in urban areas. Such demographic changes will impact on a city’s infrastructure, driving requirements for smarter, more secure and energy-efficient solutions. Infineon Technologies AG and eluminocity GmbH have jointly developed an intelligent streetlight to tackle these requirements. In promoting e-mobility, helping to save energy and enabling a connected infrastructure, the streetlight can serve as the backbone for the city of the future.

Internet of Things pioneer Echelon Corporation is expanding its successful deployment of “white tunable” connected street lighting in White Bear Lake, Minnesota with weather adaptive capabilities powered by its collaboration with IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT).

Customs clearance procedures are the backbone of international trade. Importers are frequently troubled by the slow Customs clearance time because the longer the wait the more it affects businesses. Good news is that in recently year, more countries have standardized and issued requirements and certifications for manufacturers, where once certain certification is obtained the clearance time for the goods can be vastly shortened.

Taiwanese IC driver manufacturer Macroblock recently announced its collaboration with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to develop ultra-small pitch LED (Micro LED) digital display module. The company's board of directors has approved the decision.

Researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Cyber Security Research Center have demonstrated that data can be stolen from an isolated "air-gapped" computer's hard drive reading the pulses of light on the LED drive using various types of cameras and light sensors.

Osram Opto Semiconductors’ new SFH 4787S infrared LED (IRED) for iris scanners illuminates the eyes so evenly that the software identifying the iris pattern now hardly needs to correct artefacts. 

Philips Lighting and Ericsson jointly introduced today a new smart pole, Philips lightpole site slim, targeted initially at European cities. Philips lightpole site combines Philips’ energy efficient LED lighting with Ericsson’s leading small cell technology for high-speed broadband connectivity.

According to the latest evaluation, the US $29.6 billion global LED lighting market is expected to reach up to  US $ 33.1 billion by the end of 2017. The credit for the appraisal goes to the regional lighting development as LED lighting accounts for 23% of total lightings in Europe, which is the highest across the world. Also, North America and China are the second and third highest absorbing regions respectively.