New display technologies Mini LED and Micro LED are bringing new opportunities to the industry. Many companies are thus trying to develop new strategies and form alliances with the aim to occupy a leading position in the market. Recently, Taiwan-based LED companies Epistar and Lextar announced their integration for leveraging their expertise to accelerate technology development in Mini LED and Micro LED technologies, hoping to win more business opportunities. Apart from LED manufacturers, panel makers have also geared up to push commercialization of the new di...

Signify announced its partnership with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to support the Smart Street Lighting NY project of the state. The Smart Street Lighting NY program was launched in 2018 with the aim to replace streetlights in New York State. Signify is going to provide its Interact City IoT lighting system to connect LED luminaires and further help cities of the state to reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint. To date, more than 50,000 LED streetlights have been installed or are currently being installed under the program. (Im...

Taiwanese LED chip maker Epistar and Lextar are going to form a new holding company, aiming to intensify its growing momentum in next-gen display technologies Mini LED and Micro LED. LEDinside noticed that Apple, who is reportedly launching Mini LED-based products, could be a nudge that lead to the alliance of Epistar and Lextar. Rumors of Apple to release several Mini LED backlight technology adopted products including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 14.1-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2020 and 2021 have been going on since last year. Epistar, the Taiwan com...

Two Taiwan-based LED companies, Epistar and Lextar, announced yesterday (June 18) that they will jointly set up a new holding company via share conversion. Through the collaboration, the two companies aim to integrate their resource and focus on their expertise to speed Mini LED and Micro LED technology development. For the new holding company, Epistar and Lextar will swap one share for 0.5 and 0.275 shares respectively. The share swap is scheduled to be completed on October 20, 2020. Once the new holding company is listed upon the share swap date, both Epistar a...

Micro LED technology supplier PlayNitride said that it aims to reduce production cost of Micro LED chip by 95% in five years to meet the requirement of mass production and is continue to raise funding. Charles Li, CEO of PlayNitride, noted that the two major keys of Micro LEDs are to make them small and cheap, which is the current challenge for commercialization. In order to achieve the goal, it is critical to connect the supply chain from wafer manufacture, chip process, transfer technology, display module, backplane driver and system tuning. Most of the processes ...

With the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak, several companies across the world including Osram had withdrawn their business outlook or guidance earlier this year. As for new, following reopens in many countries, Osram provided an updated business guidance for its fiscal year 2020, starting October 2019 and ending September 2020. Osram reported on June 17, 2020, that it is expecting an on-year revenue decline of -15 to -19%, comparing to its previous guidance of comparable revenue growth between -3% and +3%. The projected adjusted EBITDA margin went down from 9% to 11% to ...

Signify collaborated with the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University in the US on a research that validates the effectiveness of Signify’s UVC light sources on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Since the start of the SARS CoV-2 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Griffiths, Associate Professor of Microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine and his team have been working on developing tools to support scientific advancement in this field. During their research they have t...

Otsaw, the robot manufacturer from Singapore announced that it has launched the world first UVC LED based autonomous robot for disinfection. The robot, named “O-RX,” is created in only eight weeks from conceptualization, design, materials procurement, prototype testing to certification. The UVC LED embedded disinfecting robot also passed safety testing and has been certified by TUV SUD. (Image: Otsaw) Unlike other current UV disinfecting robot using mercury UV lamps, the O-RX utilizes the UVC LED technology that emits only UVC ...

Panasonic Lighting Americas announced a strategic solution partnership with Pointr, a UK-based startup experts in deep location platforms. The new partnership enables an offering of end-to-end connected lighting solutions, paired with real-time location-based services, to address the convergence of physical spaces with the virtual world. The two parties will integrated their expertise in location based services and lighting solutions to provide innovative offering for customers such as digital ceiling embedded with location-based services. The solution aims to improve efficiency,...

Huawei’s subsidiary Hubble recently invested in Vertilite, a semiconductor startup focusing on VCSEL development. The amount of the investment was not revealed. Vertilite has become the VCSEL supply of Huawei after the U.S. banned Lumentum shipment to the China tech giant in May, 2019. Huawei thus turned to Vertilite for the 3D sensing component and further pushed the de-Americanization plan. Hubble is an investment company of Huawei and has invested different China-based semiconductor companies to help strengthening their technology and fortifying i...

Daktronics and Beijing Indigo have partnered for a new freeform LED video display in the location's winter garden atrium. The display forms a curtain across six arc-arranged steel columns to form the largest display in the Beijing region. The display is comprised of freeform stick LED elements featuring 25-mm line spacing and measuring 9 meters high by 52 meters wide. It is a transparent display that faces inward to create an engaging atmosphere for visitors while people outside can see through the display. (Image: Daktronics) "It was challenging to ensure t...

LG Electronics said on June 11 that its LED Cinema Display has been installed in Taiwan’s movie theater. It is the first commercialized LED Cinema Display of LG and the first LED theater display in Taiwan. The display is 14 meters wide and seven meters high, supporting 4K resolution and installed in a 300-seat theater that is operated by Taiwan’s local cinema chain Showtime Cinema. LG also works with audio tech company Dolby Laboratories to add surround sound to the display, offering an advanced experience with its LED Cinema Display. ...

Japan-based medical equipment supplier Nikkiso has collaborated with the University of Miyazaki and announced that its deep UV LED adopted apace disinfecting device can effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19. The two parties conducted trials by exposing SARS-CoV-2 viruses contained liquid under deep UV LED radiation for 30 second and found that virus infectivity decreased by 99.9%. The experiment went on two months and the effectiveness of deep UV LED for preventing COVID-19 infection is confirmed. (Image: Nikkiso) Researchers said that th...

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) and the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) announced that they have won in two patent administrative suits and confirm the validity of a patent (No. ZL201110066517.7) for red phosphor. (image: NIMS) MCC filed the patent infringement litigation with the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court against Shield on January 23, 2015. Another litigation filing with that court was against Intematix, its American parent Intematix Corporation, and Chinese sales agency GrandLux Optoelectronics (collectivel...

LED video display company announces the financial results of its fiscal 4Q20 and 2020 ending May 2. 2020. Daktronics reported fiscal year 2020 net sales of US$608.9 million, operating loss of US$0.2 million and net income of US$0.5 million. This compares to net sales of $569.7 million, operating loss of US$4.7 million, and net loss of US$1.0 million for fiscal 2019. Fiscal 2020 orders were US$620.8 million compared to US$608.9 million for fiscal 2019. For fiscal 4Q20, Daktronics registered net sales of US$126.1 million, operating loss of US$3.5 million, and...

LG Display announced that it will be leading Korean national project for developing stretchable displays, aiming to expand display applications in the era of IoT, 5G and self-driving car. Selected by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), LG Display will oversee the large-scale R&D project and lead a collective of 21 entities covering related companies, research institutes and universities. Jointly these parties will develop core technologies, materials, component and build up a robust ecosystem for Korea’s display technolog...

Perovskite is one of the focuses of LED research as the material is believed to deliver light with lower production cost. However, the efficiency and stability of perovskite-based LEDs still need to be improved with worldwide research teams continuously working on the material. Helio Display Materials, a spin-off company of Oxford University and Cambridge University, is pushing perovskite LEDs commercialization with the IPs from both universities. (Image: Helio Display Materials) Helio Display Materials aims to leverage its technology to enhance color perform...

In April, Atomic Blue, the U.S. LED company, announced that its high power UVC LED has passed the test by NIH for killing 99.9999% COVID-19 virus. Now, the company’s UVC germicidal light has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (Image: Atomic Blue) Atomic Blue's ultraviolet light has been registered with the FDA as a Disinfectant – Medical Device with the product code LRJ under device Class 1. The UVC fixture, known for its ability to eradicate the COVID-19 virus, is now approved for com...

Panel research division of TrendForce, WitsView, indicated that issues with notebook computer panel supply chain, such as material shortage, labor shortage, and logistic disruptions, were gradually resolved starting in April. The resolution of these issues, combined with rising WFH and distance education demand brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in a strong wave of panel demand in 2Q20. TrendForce projects 2Q20 notebook panel shipment to reach 53.3 million units with a 17.7% increase YoY and 33.6% increase QoQ. (Image: Pixabay) TrendForce Resea...

STMicroelectronics announced the extension of its FlightSense ToF ranging sensors by introducing the VL53L3CX which allow measuring distances to multiple objects and increasing accuracy. Meanwhile, the company also introduced a reference design suited for monitoring social distancing and assuring remote operation to protect human health in all environments in response to global or local pandemic conditions. The ToF sensor VL53L3CX measures object ranges from 2.5 cm to 3 m, allowing designers to introduce features like occupancy detectors or reporting the exact distanc...

StarPower Semiconductor and Cree announced that China’s Yutong Group is using Cree’s silicon carbade devices in a module for the powertrain system of electric buses. The use of silicon carbide-based power solutions enable faster, smaller, lighter and more powerful electronic systems for commercial electric vehicles. Cree works jointly with StarPower to accelerate the commercial adoption of silicon carbide-based inverters in electric bus applications. Upon rollout, Yutong Group will deliver their first electric bus in China to use silicon carbide in its powert...

Dr. Hönle, a Germany-based UV technology developer, announced that it has proved that energy-rich short-waved UVC irradiation is highly effective for inactivating SARS-CoV-2 viruses, pathogen of COVID-19. The tests were conducted at the Institute for Medical Virology of the University Hospital Frankfurt. (Image: Pixabay) The results show that, using special Hönle UV units, the new corona virus can be killed reliably within seconds. An inactivation rate of 99,99% was confirmed in the laboratory. The tests were carried out applying different...

Vertical farming company Kalera from Florida, USA, has teamed up with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to conduct a study focusing on the effect of LED lighting by the end-of-production period. The results showed that by exposing lettuce to LED lighting before harvest, the nutritive value would increase. The new study, “Effect of End-of-Production High-Energy Radiation on Nutritional Quality of Indoor-Grown Red-Leaf Lettuce,” was published in HortScience on June 1, 2020. The research found that by using ...

Signify has committed to its sustainable goals including reducing carbon emission and achieving circular economy. Last week, the Dutch Company further announced another target to eliminate plastic usage in packaging. Signify announced that it will now start phasing out all plastics from packaging for consumer-related products with the aim to be plastic-free in 2021. By phasing out plastic used for consumer product packaging, Signify will avoid the use of over 2,500 tonnes of plastics per year. This is equal to 125 million PET bottles which, placed in a row, would stretch more t...

U.S. company Orion Lighting posted its FY 2020 financial results ending March 31, 2020. The revenue of FY 2020 grew by 129%YoY to US$150.8 million comparing to US$65.8 million in FY 2019. The gross profit also reached US$37.1 million with an on-year growth of 155%. Net income of the fiscal year came to US$12.5 million or US$0.40 per share. EBITDA came to US$14.7 million. Orion Lighting noted that the revenue increase was mainly driven by a large LED lighting and controls retrofit project of one national account. The company said its business ha...

GE Current, a Daintree company recently named Omnilumen Technical Products and GS Lighting Group as new agents in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Omnilumen Technical products is covering the Greater Toronto Area for luminaires and wired and wireless controls. GS Lighting Group is covering the province of Ontario for the Lamps & Ballast business, on top of continuing to manage the line for the region of Southwest Ontario. These partnerships will bring Current’s expansive portfolio of lighting and digital controls solutions to more businesses throu...

Smart display event Touch Taiwan, originally taking place in August 2020, has been rescheduled to April 2021, after evaluation of the market demands and current scenario. Most of the international technology events in the first half of 2020 have been cancelled or rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many expect that in the second half of the year, as more restrictions lifted, some events will be able to resume. However, Touch Taiwan, which originally to be held in August 26 to 28, 2020, has still been moved to April 21 to 23, 2021. (Image: Touch Taiwan) The...

Advanced LED technology enables innovative automotive lighting including adaptive driving beam (ADB) by which each single LED pixel can be control independently for a wider range of applications. Based on similar concept, Japanese LED maker Stanley proposed an innovative way to combine laser and MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) mirror, which allows high precision light and sensing function. (Image: Stanley) Stanly uses blue laser light which can be reflected with MEMS mirror and converted into white light with phosphor to build a headlight system. V...

Breaking the social activity limitation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Samsung launched an online virtual lighting exhibition to fill the need for more consumer-facing product presentations with innovative new strategies. The Virtual Lighting Exhibition now offers a 24/7access to Samsung’s updated lighting solutions for manufacturers, supply chain partners and end users. Samsung said that this online booth provides a platform where virtual visitors can access the most current Samsung LED technologies and products. Users can find segmented product lineups grouped...

Mini LED display technology is on its way to break into the mainstream market with several products including laptops and gaming monitors officially debuted. Apple’s rumored Mini LED-based iPad and Macbook are also expected to show up in the second half of 2020. In addition, leading TV brands are said to launch high-end 8K TVs with Mini LED backlight technology. Epistar, the Taiwan-based LED chip maker, is believed to be benefitted from the increasing demands for Mini LED. Aiming to fulfill the surging Mini LED display applications, Epistar has in...