Automobile manufacturers have implemented optical sensors on vehicles and boosted the demands of sensors in recent years. Currently each vehicle is installed with four to five set sensing elements. It is forecasted that the number will keep growing and by 2020, every single vehicle might be installed with up to 10 sensing elements. Another major market for sensor applications is wearable devices. The market expansion of wearable devices will increase the needs of photodiode by four-fivefold.

LED applications have opened an explosive market in horticulture lighting. Nichia, the Japanese LED giant, set up a laboratorial plant factory in Shanghai to test how different LED light sources can alter the ingredients of plants to create medicinal effects. 

Nichia considered that in 2H18, the competition between LED makers will still go on due to the excess capacity of LED backlight and the weak market demands in the past two quarters. As the prices of LED chips and packaging has been down for years, there might be more acquisitions between corporates and some collapses for small and medium sized manufacturers. Generally speaking, 2018 is a tough year for the LED industry. 

Nichia, the leading LED Company based in Japan, held a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan and shared its state-of-the-art lighting technologies in automotive, medical, and horticultural applications. 

The global lighting giant, Osram announced the company’s amendment of the yearly forecast in response to market slowdown in the automotive sector. The company reported that the restrictions on trade and sales for automotive manufacturers significantly created business uncertainty.

LED makers have been announcing their progress of Mini LED before reaching the final goal, Micro LED. Manufacturers in Taiwan and China started to ship Mini LED products from the second half of 2018. Nichia, the Japanese LED giant, also reported that it has completed the development process of Mini LED and is ready to mass produce related products that will be released by the end of the year.

At Samsung Electronics’ QLED & Advanced Displays Summit in Los Angeles, California, the company showcased its current progress of the integration of QLED display, 8K ecosystem, Micro LED technology and HDR. 

LED chip maker Epistar reported the company’s decision to establish a spin-off to focus on VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser) and GaN on Si components production. This spin-off will be named Epistar Semiconductor. M.J. Chou, the current president of Epistar, will become the president of the new subsidiary.

Hyundai Mobis revealed its new achievement in developing new materials for making lamps which can defeat the fog problem. The new materials application also helped to reduce the weight of its lamp products by 20% for one lamp.

Osram showcased its latest technology of Human Centric Lighting (HCL) with an eyewear device at Boston TechJam.

The Swedish LED lighting supplier for greenhouse and controlled plant growth environment, Heliospectra AB, reported that Medical 420, a Macedonia based medicinal cannabis cultivation facility placed a new order to Heliospectra AB to increase the capacities for the growing medical market.

Mini LED as an enhanced version of conventional LED backlight has been considered as a transitional technology between conventional LED and Micro LED. According to the estimation of LEDinside, the revenue of Mini LED products is expected to reach US$689 million by 2022. Before the second half of 2018 started, many LED companies have reported their progress and shipping schedule of Mini LED products including applications of automotive lighting and mobile devices.

Absen LED installed a 167 square meter (1796.5 sqft) LED video wall at Longgang Operation Centre (LOC) in Shenzhen as an equipment of the “Smart City” project to display instant information of the city. 

The U.S. based company, ONCE®, which provides animal-centric lighting systems for agriculture applications, has reported its acquisition of a German company iLOX® and its Polish subsidiary which develops lighting solutions for livestock facilities. Sharing the focus on improving the welfare of animals, the two companies expect to integrate their resources to create innovate lighting technology for agriculture. 

Seoul Semiconductor, a Korea based LED maker, has announced that its innovated LED technology “SunLike” is applied to home lighting products and will be launched in Q3. 

Foxconn Technology Group and its subsidiary Innolux will buy stakes in Vizio, the U.S. based television brand as the group’s strategy to expand market in North America. 

Innolux illustrated that by the end of this year, the company expected to launch Mini LED public information display (PID) and large size TV application was estimated to release in 2Q19. As for automotive products, due to the time consuming verification process, were scheduled in 2020.

Micro LED is considered to be the next generation display technology with its excellent performance in contrast, low energy consumption, quick response time and wide viewing angle. In January 2018, Samsung released the first Micro LED modular TV, “The Wall,” and other leading companies like Apple and Sony have also been investing in the technology development to push the application for end-market. If the obstacles of mass transfer technology and after process repairing could be overcome, it is forecasted that in five years Micro LED will be in the market. According to the estimation by LEDinside, the revenue of Micro LED and Mini LED will reach US$1.38 billion by 2022.

With technology implement, hospitality industry keeps seeking for upgraded services to create exclusive experiences for the guests. The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) provides a platform for experts in both hospitality and technology to connect and cooperate. This year at HITEC, Samsung showcases several products including digital displays and wearable devices to enhance the management and service quality.

Smart AV, a U.K. based audio visual hire firm, announced its invest in the latest fine pitch LED product from a Chinese producer, Unilumin. The new LED product, Unano 1.8 LED, features 1.8mm pixel pitch, offering high resolution, wide color gamut and the ability to curve up to 5 degrees. 

LG Innotek launched the new brand “InnoUV” and planned to adopt the new brand logo to all of its UV LED products. The name “InnoUV” combined ‘innovation’ and ‘UV’, according to LG Innotek, it represents “an LED that embodies LG Innotek’s innovative UV technology.”

Taiwanese LED packaging company, EVERLIGHT, plans to increase the production capacity and revenue of automotive lighting and invisible LED including UV, IR and sensor for the second half of 2018.

The semiconductor process equipment manufacturer, Veeco, released the information of Aledia’s selection on its product, Propel® GaN MOCVD system for Aledia’s further research and development on 3D LED application.

LEDVANCE signed to join the United Nations Global Compact to illustrate the company’s commitment in four areas of corporate responsibility including human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption. 

Fusion Optix, an American based manufacturer of LED components reported the news of the company acquiring precision production equipment related to light guides and optical firms, quality control testing equipment and other asserts from the former Lighting Division of Rambus. According to Fusion Optix, the new equipment will be installed at its headquarters in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA and the company is expecting the acquisition will increase the capabilities of in-house production and engineering. 

The company has been working on Mini LED backlights application and is preparing production for clients on the third quarter 2018 and by the fourth quarter, Mini LED application could be found in the market.

Samsung demonstrated “The Wall”, the new giant 16inch Micro LED TV in CES 2018 and is now planning to release the products into the market by third quarter this year. According to the report of Korea Times, a senior company executive said Samsung Electronics will debut TVs using Micro LED technology commercially the soonest in the third quarter in 2018. 

Signify announced to appoint Brian Friborg as the new leader of Entertainment Lighting Group on 6th June 2018. Born in Danmark and now based in the U.S., Brian is experienced in lighting business and carries critical understandings about the industry.

LG Eletronics USA Business Solution is introducing the new Transparent Color LED film display which is flexible and can be attached on any surface such as windows and glass, making it possible to turn them into customized digital display. 

Signify, formerly known as Philips, announced the expansion of LED horticultural lighting installation with Agro-Inwest, Russia’s rapidly growing innovative company cultivating fresh vegetables. The greenhouses using LED lighting for growing tomatoes will reach the size of 68.5 hectares, equivalent to 100 soccer pitches.