TV makers, especially Samsung and LG Display, are scrambling for changes and quality upgrades for their products. In 2018, the focus of the competition between the two Korean display manufacturers will shift from QLED vs. OLED to Micro LED.

Smart lighting has been developed for years, but products and applications are not really used widely. In 2017, however, smart lighting has entered rapid development. According to the latest data of LEDinside, the global smart lighting market reached close to US$4.6 billion in 2017 with an annual growth rate of 95%. The market size is expected to reach US$13.4 billion in 2020.

Chinese LED maker HC Semitek announced it has signed an investment framework agreement to establish projects of advanced semiconductors and devices in the Yiwu Information and Optoelectronics Hi-Tech Industrial Park. The signing of the agreement was witnessed by the Yiwu Municipal People’s Government.

It’s not a coincidence that multinational lighting conglomerates like Philips Lighting and LEDVANCE have lately been undergoing transformations, including product mix adjustment, more investments in smart lighting, cutting jobs and quitting production related to traditional lighting.

The rise of the Internet of Things has led LED lighting to networked high-value digital lighting. Smart systems can collect information of users and environment, etc., make data analysis, and then adjust devices. Personalized and human-centric smart lighting has become the focus of future industrial development.

Here begins a debate: when Mini LED is ready to enter the smartphone display market, it have to face an oversupply of OLED screens. Does Mini LED still have chances to grow in this space? And for how long can it last?

LED lighting has come a long way from its initial days. Today it is combined with digital lighting controls to create smart lighting solutions that dramatically save on energy consumption and the related operating costs. But in addition to these savings, organizations deploying smart lighting solutions are achieving impressive results in other ways. Let’s take a look at a few examples.

Universal Display Corporation reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017.

Universal Display Corporation this month has confirmed two partnerships for OLED production.

SloanLED announces it has won a national rollout LED lighting upgrade with Engen, one of Africa’s energy companies. The Engen program has commenced with several trial sites in South Africa utilizing SloanLED’s lighting solution.

Ameresco, an energy efficiency and renewable energy company providing energy infrastructure solutions, announced that its UK operation was awarded and delivered a £3 million energy performance contract (EPC) across four colleges in Scotland—Edinburgh College, Borders College, Newbattle Abbey College, and West Lothian College.

Researchers have designed a new LED-based train headlight that uses a tenth of the energy required for headlights using conventional light sources. If operated 8 hours every day, the electricity savings of the new design would reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by about 152 kilograms per year.

Seoul Semiconductor on February 20 has won the patent invalidity litigation action that was filed against Everlight Electronics in the United Kingdom.

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, one of the fastest growing FMCG companies in India has launched Wipro Z Nxt, an integrated home automation solution. This system enables the user to transform any ordinary home into a smart home, where the complete household can be controlled from any smart devices, anywhere in the world.

High-tech company Osram is increasingly focusing on digitalization trends. During the Annual General Meeting, CEO Olaf Berlien outlined to shareholders the promising path the long-established company will take over the coming years.

As Artemide continues to experience exponential growth across North America, Vice President of Sales, Claude Blache, recognized the need to redefine their approach, embracing the sales model to its fullest potential.  Artemide is enhancing its presence in all segments of the lighting market to sustain its brand awareness, leading position and current sales growth. The company’s focus is to strengthen its presence in the Architectural and Design sectors, fostering current relationships and developing new ones.

A new ultrathin, elastic display that fits snugly on the skin can show the moving waveform of an electrocardiogram recorded by a breathable, on-skin electrode sensor. Combined with a wireless communication module, this integrated biomedical sensor system - called "skin electronics" - can transmit biometric data to the cloud.

Philips Lighting announced that it has completed the cancellation of 2.8 million shares that it repurchased from Royal Philips on November 28, 2017 for an aggregate amount of EUR 90 million.

Philips Lighting published a new report together with SmartCitiesWorld that highlights the drivers and hurdles faced by local authorities considering implementing a smart city program. 

Light influences our lives in many ways including our health, moods, productivity, concentration, sleep cycles, decision making and emotions. With the adoption of smart lighting and IoT, lighting characteristics such as color, intensity and timing can automatically adjust to meet the needs of occupants. For example, in this article by Digital Lumens (now OSRAM), the author states, “In your kids’ elementary school, biometric sensors will track students’ alertness, subtly shifting spectrum to automatically boost their focus any time it starts to wane.”

Philips Lighting has selected SUSI Partners' SUSI Energy Efficiency Fund (SEEF) as financing partner to implement Light as a Service (LaaS) projects to help European lighting customers upgrade their lighting to more energy-efficient systems and reduce carbon emissions.

LEDinside would like to thank everyone for your support and regular visit to our online magazine. As Chinese New Year is approaching, we will temporarily stop updating industry news until February 21.

A group of neuroscientists from Michigan State University lately revealed a new research indicating that dim ambient light might affect one’s brain.

Innolux announces January 2018 consolidated revenues and unaudited net income for 2017.

LITE-ON Technology reported January consolidated revenue of NT$16.51 billion, up 2% Y-o-Y and decreased 8% M-o-M supported by stable end-demand from core businesses.

LEDVANCE has successfully delivered 25 million energy-efficient LED lamps to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), the Indian government agency in charge of executing India‘s UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) initiative.

On February 2, 2018, Seoul Semiconductor filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Italy in the Court of Milan against Mouser Electronics Inc., a global electronic components distributor, as well as its Italian subsidiary – for the sale of certain Everlight LED products.

Veeco Instruments Inc., Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC), and SGL Carbon SE (SGL), today announced that they have mutually agreed to settle the pending litigation among the parties and to amicably resolve all pending disputes, including AMEC’s lawsuit against Veeco before the Fujian High Court in China and Veeco’s lawsuit against SGL before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Display makers have been scrambling for the production of smartphone OLED screens for the iPhone X; however, the phone faces a tepid sales and even a possibility to be discontinued in 2018.

Samsung Electronics literally will take LED engagement to new heights with the introduction of ‘The Wall Professional’ – a modular, large-format indoor Micro LED display that can extend to hundreds of inches in size while delivering outstanding brightness, contrast and viewing angles. The Wall Professional will serve as the centerpiece of the Samsung booth at ISE 2018.