Wearable devices are still in its early phases, where manufacturers can be creative in design. Ritot, a Ukraine-based startup has abandoned screen designs, who needs a LED or OLED screen displays if all the information you need can be projected onto your wrist?

LEDinside posted a short piece about the breathtaking LED basketball court Kobe Bryant used to coach young Chinese players during his summer tour with Nike, more details about the high-tech basketball court were revealed recently by the sport attire giant and Gizmodo.

Untrue market rumors claiming China’s Ministry of Commerce was planning to raise LED tariffs disrupted the stock market in both China and Taiwan yesterday. Sources from the ministry not only noted the rumor was false, but that the ministry was not responsible for implementing or deciding whether tariffs should be imposed. Where the market rumor came from? We don’t know. But Taiwanese manufacturers and investors have already taken a blow.

Taiwanese LED stocks plunged on Aug. 21, 2014 over rumors of Chinese government’s intention to raise LED tariffs. To clarify market rumors, LED manufacturers Lite-On, Everlight, Epistar and Unity Opto all stated they did not receive any notices regarding increased tariffs from Chinese authorities, and an uptick in tariffs would have limited impact since they all had LED factories in China. These Taiwanese LED manufacturers also emphasized delivering good revenue performances for August 2014.

Intensified market competition in the Chinese market caused local manufacturers to turn their attention to emerging oversea markets. Russia has become a dark horse in China’s LED industry, quickly ascending to second largest export market status in less than one year. In 2013, the country could not even be found among China’s top five LED export markets.

The State Key Laboratory of Solid State Lighting (SKLSSL) under China’s Ministry of Science and Technology has recently set up a meeting to discuss publication of LED standards in Beijing, China. The organization has mainly been responsible for drafting semiconductor lighting specs.

A group of researchers from University of Illinois have found in a study that windowless offices had a negative impact on workers health and could cause sleep issues, according to a report by Co. Design.

Huayue Electronics (Huayue), a manufacturer and international distributor of LED lighting products announced that Slovenia’s second largest city Maribor intends to use greener LED streetlights. The Chinese manufacturer has submitted a proposal through wholly-owned subsidiary, Changzhou Huayue Electronics, to retrofit the city streetlights is still under review.

Taiwan and China’s LED markets have been affected by market rumors this morning of rising LED tariffs in China, with Chinese manufacturers in general reaping in profits, while neighboriing Taiwan manufacturers saw stock prices drop.The disruptive market rumor has proven to be false by a source from  China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC), according to a report from Chinese financial media NetEase.

Earlier this morning, LED stocks on Taiwan’s bourse riveted from market rumors surrounding China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) plans of raising LED tariffs, but LED manufacturers have refuted receiving any related government notices.

The U.S. Department of Energy has published the 2014 edition of the Solid-State Lighting Manufacturing R&D Roadmap. The Roadmap complements the SSL R&D Multi-Year Program Plan that guides the Core and Product Development R&D programs. One of the goals of the Roadmap is to guide the Manufacturing R&D program and help direct funding solicitations for it.

Applications for Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems are now extending into the realm of advanced automobile systems, according to several technology reports.

Canadian City Ottawa has reported new LED streetlights installed since Fall last year have helped cut energy bills by nearly 75 percent, according to local paper The Times report.

Revolution Lighting Technologies (“Revolution Lighting”) announced that it has entered into a three year loan and security agreement with Bank of America. The agreement allows Revolution Lighting to borrow up to US $25 million on a revolving basis.

Princeton University is making campus lighting more sustainable and efficient one fixture at a time. Through the Lighting Efficiency Upgrade Program, the University will convert more than 100,000 fixtures to light-emitting diode (LED) technology in buildings across campus. The improvements will significantly reduce carbon emissions, promote cost savings and limit waste.

Product testing and ceritifcation organization DEKRA outlines some of the recent changes in Mexico and Australia's LED standards.

DOE has revised its October 2013 report, Dimming LEDs with Phase-Cut Dimmers: The Specifier's Process for Maximizing Success, to include updated information about the installation of LED lighting and controls at the Burden Museum in Troy, NY, a GATEWAY project that was still in construction when the original report was published.

Echelon Corporation, open-interoperable control networking pioneer for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), announced that it has acquired Lumewave Inc., a wireless outdoor lighting control system provider with a strong track record selling its solution to U.S. municipalities, universities, medical facilities and enterprises.

LED lighting manufacturer Illumitex, Inc., has announced a partnership with FarmedHere, a sustainable indoor farming venture in Chicago. Illumitex will be the sole source of horticulture lighting for the company’s expansive hydroponic and aquaponic growing operations.

Lextar will be scaling up investments in 4Q14 to expand production capacity in 2015 to overcome production shortages, according to a UDN report.

Despite suspended production in one of its four major factories, China’s biggest lighting company NVC Lighting’s recent boardroom drama will have limited impact on its UK subsidiary, according to a report by Lighting.

Recently, China’s National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization has announced plans of amending GB4785-2007 “Automotive and exterior signal lighting devices and safety standards.” This is the second draft, and once amendments are completed it will enter the phase of accepting public opinion.

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) recently announced plans of investing KRW 22 billion (US $21.5 million) to set up a OLED lighting industry support fund over a period of five years, according to a report by Korea IT News.

New Zealand’s Wellington City Council is planning to retrofit 18,000 streetlights with smart LED streetlights, according to a recent report by Radio New Zealand News.

The Illuminating Engineering Society recently shared an article by Don Peifer from his recent column in LD+A that addresses whether the hype surrounding LEDs match the reality? Or put another way: Is the battle over and have LEDs already won? Below is the excerpt posted on their website:

NBA player Kobe Bryant speaks about the future of basketball courts during a tour to China recently, with the infusion of LED technology players will probably be able to train with more precision. 

Plessey announced today that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Solid State Supplies Ltd., an electronics distributor and provider of advanced complete solutions headquartered in Redditch, UK, to expand its European network with coverage in the UK and Ireland market for its GaN-on-Si LED products.

Changfang Lighting announced on Aug. 15, 2014 that the company’s restructure application to absorb Kang Ming Sheng Industrial (KMSI) was halted by China Regulatory Commission over suspected insider trading by financial organization Guosen Consultant, according to several Chinese media reports.

Russia hopes to further raise China-Russia LED trade volume, and attract top Chinese LED manufacturers to invest in the country, said Alexey Gruzdev, the Russian trade representative to China during a Russia’s lighting market analysis and strategy forum in Shenzhen, China.

Latest developments between Elec-Tech - International (ETI) and NVC Lighting have taken another dramatic turn.