People in Chicago will soon see metal fixtures wrapped around light poles in several areas throughout the city this summer. They are not decoration however, but data-collection sensors. 

Chinese LED manufacturer Leyard Optoelectronic (Leyard) is showing ambition to expand in the European market with its latest funding round, according to a Shanghai Stock Information Service report.

Chinese LED manufacturer Tanlong Photoelectronics (Tanlong) announced the resignation of two executives during a board meeting on June 23, 2014.

As lighting consumption continues to increase, solid state lighting will become a major driving force for LED lighting growth that is expected to grow for several years, said Micheal Schmitt, Regional Marketing Director at Osram during LEDinside’s LEDforum at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) on June 11, 2014.

Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm Sequoia teams up with Austrialian based smart lighting start-up LIFX with a US $12 million investment. The investment bumps up LIFX’s total funding to US $16.6 million. 

Leading Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar acquired bankrupt Taiwanese blue-ray CD and LaserDisc manufacturer Optodisc factory for NT $836 million, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. Epistar plans to expand AlInGaP and InGaN LED production at the new factory site.

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) is reportedly using the US $578 million received in prepayment from Apple to expand sapphire production through establishing an additional facility. This new facility will produce roughly 20 million sapphire displays per year on top of the 200 million estimated from earlier reports, said Analyst Matt Margolis via BGR. 

The Brazil World Cup 2014, which officially kicked off on June 13, 2014 at São Paulo is entering climax. This year’s game has taken an interesting turn, since the last World Cup champion Spain was knocked out of the game. Sixty four years have elapsed since soccer nation Brazil hosted the global sports event. Although, the Chinese soccer team was disqualified from the World Cup this year, Chinese-made LED displays have successfully earned “front row seats” to the world’s top sports event.

Low price has been the key to success in the LED industry as market penetration rates rise. However, manufacturers will need to look into different avenues to keep ahead of the pack as price competition intensifies. Ray Chock, Philips Lumileds Sr. Director of Marketing and Business Development shared his insight on where the industry is heading in regards to the lumen per dollar trend during LEDforum at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition 2014 on June 11 in China. LED bulb prices drop dramatically LED bulb prices have dropped over the past few year...

The roads throughout the city of Phoenix are being lit more efficiently through a more than 95,000-fixture conversion to LED street lighting---a move expected to save the Valley of the Sun upward of US $100,000 each year.

Samsung Display recently revealed plans of selling outdated LCD equipment from a production line in Cheonan, South Korea to Chinese manufacturer Truly, according to a recent Yonhap News report.

Our favorite picks of the week might be a bit of a surprise, smart LED light yoga mat TERA makes headlines this week. The new application is a good demonstration of integrating smart lighting technology with health and fitness products. More rumors about Apple have emerged too, as the company is actively seeking out potential smart lighting partners for its smart home projects. The much anticipated iPad Air 2 is also rumored to be using sapphire material, although, liquid metal will be temporarily ruled out.

China is researching on LED lighting subsidies and policies at the moment, according to a report from Chinese-language Yancheng Evening News. Manufacturers interviewed indicated Chinese government’s new subsidies were “highly likely” to further promote the generalization of LEDs. Competition among manufacturers have advanced from single product technology to the next level involving systems.

Philips signed a multilateral agreement with Xuchang City government in China and VisionMax (Shanghai) Electronic Technology (VisionMax) to establish a LED lighting manufacturing base, according to a report by GG-LED.com.

The industry’s new round of global LED patent competitions will bring new challenges to the industry, said Ryoichi Tohmon, Director of Intellectual Property Project of Global Marketing and Sales Department at Toyoda Gosei during a talk at LEDforum Guangzhou 2014 in Guangzhou, China on June 11, 2014.

The ongoing penetration of OLED displays in mobile phones and wearables and renewed prospects for the OLED lighting market will catapult the OLED materials market from around $900 million in 2014 to $3.7 billion in 2019.

Taisei Corporation, Okamura Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) have jointly developed OLED desk lamps for office use. The newly developed OLED desk lamps will be installed in a Net-Zero Energy Building (ZEB)* verification facility that Taisei Corporation is constructing in the city of Yokohama. The OLED lamps, which emit soft light over a wide area, will be tested on an office-wide basis and are expected to reduce energy consumption while creating a more comfortable work environment.

The LED industry is fierce. For manufacturers to stay on top, they must make products that outshine their competitors. Therefore, manufacturers are continuously launching new products with high light outputs and longer lifespans to keep consumers coming back. Some of the claims however are too outlandish to be true. 

Cree and Musco Lighting might be working closely to light up Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California, U.S. with 1,600 custom made LED lighting fixtures utilizing some 250,000 LED lights. However, the current lighting installation will only be on display till March 2015.

The arrival of LED industry’s prosperous three years is for real this time, a recent CNA report quoted Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee saying at the company’s latest stockholder meeting.

Lite-On Technology Board of directors has appointed Warren Chen, current Group CEO of Lite-On Technology as Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Lite-On Technology, effective from July 1st, 2014. 

Countries across the world have been investing large amount of resources to cut carbon emissions, as energy prices continue to climb, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). According to statistics air conditioning and lighting systems consume the most energy in buildings. Replacing lighting with LEDs is the most commonly applied method, but LEDs have heat dissipation issues that can shorten the product’s lifetime and lower energy efficiency. These issues have affected users willingness to adapt LED lights.

This is the year of the flip chip, according to Dr. Guoqing Tang, Samsung LED China General Manager and Sr. Vice President who presented at LEDforum 2014 at Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition on June 11. 

Korean manufacturer Baewoon Electronics and Chinese LED manufacturer Foshan Nationstar Optoelectronics have signed a LED lighting Strategic Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), according to a recent report by Korean media AJU Business Daily. 

Leaked photos of Apple’s iPad Air 2 have spread across the Internet recently, with latest product developments pointing towards the use of liquid metal and sapphire substrate material, according to Chinese-language media Sanlih E-Television.

Effective June 13, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has suspended the L Prize PAR38 Competition, and no entries will be accepted at this time.

Researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea have succeeded in developing the world’s first technology to control specific protein functions in living cells by using lights, which may be useful in future cancer cell research.

Acuity Brands continues to expand its extensive portfolio of residential and light commercial LED lighting solutions with the new LED Closet Light from Lithonia Lighting®. The LED Closet Light presents a new spin on a traditional fixture featuring advanced LED technology for a stylish and efficient lighting solution.

The growing smart home industry and intensifying competition has created new market situations, according to a Chinese language media CBN.com report. Apple has released its first smart home management App HomeKit at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in early June this year. The company is developing partnerships with numerous top lighting manufacturers on the smart home project.

Taiwan’s LED Lighting Industry Alliance (TLLIA) has been the first association in the country with members from traditional lighting and LED industry, according to a CNA report. Members from both industries will initiate and launch a luminaire database search engine. The alliance will also promote MIT labeled Taiwanese LED lighting modules to enter the international lighting market.