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.

LG Innotek  announced that the company has developed the world's first 70mw UV-C LED for sterilization applications. As its sterilization performance is 1.5 times higher than the competitor’s 45mW module.

AXT, Inc., a global manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year, ended December 31, 2016. The results beat Wall Street expectations. 

At the 2017 Smart City Summit and Expo, held in Taipei, Taiwan, connected lighting is one important trend that cannot be overemphasized. Philips Lighting, the Dutch lighting giant, presented an integrated smart lighting solution to showcase its resolution to compete in this market.

LEDinside, a division of the global market research company TrendForce, has recently published the report 1Q17 Micro LED Next Generation Display Industry Trend, in which trenchant insights and analyses regarding the Micro LED market will be illustrated in depth.

The next major iPhone release will certainly be one of the most anticipated events in the global consumer electronics market in the second half of 2017. TrendForce’s recent findings on the 10th anniversary iPhone release reveal that Apple’s latest refresh of the device series will include three new models, with one of them having significant hardware and design upgrades such as an AMOLED display.

2016 was a record year for materials manufacturer Covestro. Driven by demand for innovative materials, the Group’s core volumes increased by 7.5%. With greater capacity utilization across its plants, adjusted EBITDA surged by 22.7% above the 2015 figure to EUR 2.0 billion. Net income more than doubled from EUR 343 million to EUR 795 million. On this basis, Covestro plans to pay its shareholders a dividend of EUR 1.35 per share.

While InGaN-based LEDs (normal LEDs for Lighting and backlight) continue to face oversupply, IR LEDs have been in the limelight in 2017 with various applications boosting demands. 

Apple is apparently going all out for its next-generation iPhone. Latest reports suggest Apple has bought Israeli startup RealFace who specializes in facial recognition technology, adding weight to recent rumors claiming that the new iPhone will boast facial recognition.

Global demand for LED chips has been picking up strongly, and is expected to finally exceed supply in 2017. In addition, Apple has recently patented a new smartphone solution that would use a range of Micro LEDs for fingerprint recognition. As a result, prices of LED products have been on the rise.

While the public fixed their eyes on Osram’s deal with the Chinese consortium, another acquisition secretly took place in Europe. Philips, the Dutch lighting giant recently focusing on healthcare technology, last year privately bought Luciom and relocated it from France to Eindhoven, Netherland, reported LEDs Magazine.

Crossing the road safely is an important rule that everyone should bear in mind. There are also signs everywhere to remind us of road safety. However, smartphone zombies, namely pedestrians who are obsessed with their phones and do not pay attention to their surroundings while walking, have taken over the world. They even cross the roads with their eyes glued to their phones, to the extent that they become a hazard to themselves and others.