Current, powered by GE has provided its Arize horticultural lighting solution to Stockbridge Technology Centre’s newly opened Vertical Farming Development Facility which enables growers to test and model their individual urban farm setup prior to investment. 

Japan-based electronics company Panasonic has announced that the company will quit production of mercury lamps by the end of June 2020 and promote LED lighting replacement in response to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

The first phase of the 124th Canton Fair officially ended on October 19th. Shanghai Wellmax Lighting (WELLMAX) has again achieved great success in this event. Its newly released smart LED series - iDREAM series was the focus at the fair. Meanwhile, the LED bulbs with iDAPT tech were again the bestsellers. Moreover, the Global Distributor Program (GDP) attracted clients from all over the world to sign the agreements on the spot.

Laser Taiwan 2018 launched its opening today (October 17th) and exhibitors from all over the world are participating in the event to showcase their cutting edge technologies and equipment. VCSEL is the focal point of the event following the trend of 3D sensing applications.

Cree has announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 and unveiled that the company will supply its Wolfspeed silicon carbide wafers to one of the world leading power device companies.

Osram has developed a specified LED module for Scout, a German schoolbag manufacturer, to produce a schoolbag with active integrated LED lighting.

Professional UV and IR LED manufacturer High Power Lighting (HPL) has partnered with Epileds to establish a joint venture, Bioraytron. Bioraytron is a DUV LED manufacture company specializing in vertically integration of DUV LED from the production of epitaxy and wafer to packaging. Bioraytron will participate in BioOpto Japan 2018. The 10th BioOpto Japan will be held from October 17th to 19th 2018 in Chiba, Japan.

Alabama Power has established an innovation project to grow food in a shipping container retrofitted with LED lighting provided by Freight Farm. The aim of the project is to find out if the cost of using electricity to power indoor agriculture is more efficient and feasible in comparison with traditional agriculture.

Canadian lighting design company Luminis has lit up the entrance and lobby of Teck Acute Care Center in the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver Canada. 

Nichia reported a new update of its patent lawsuit with Everlight, the Taiwanese package company. 

Since the announcement of quitting its luminaires business and transforming into a high-tech company, Osram has cooperated with various industry partners and focused on intelligent business. Testing autonomous materials handling at its own plant in Schwabmünchen is another move which indicates Osram’s commitment.

Osram has announced its partnership with Rifiniti, a developer of workplace analytics software, to offer smart building IoT solutions to the commercial real estate industry for improving operational efficiencies and occupant comfort.

Everlight Electronics, a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry, will attend CEATEC (2018/10/16-10/19) in Japan to demonstrate full product series, extending to automotive interior/exterior, portable electronic device, household appliances, industry, lighting, gaming and signage. Everlight is welcoming visitors at the booth (Booth No: H041).

A Spanish research team has developed a new light emitting material which generates light source that is similar to the sun and reduces the harmfulness of blue light. The result was published in Materials Horizons in September 2018. 

A European Apple patent application related to the technology of Micro LED display was published, reported Patently Apple.

Taiwanese LED companies have registered their revenue for September and most of them posted an on-year decrease. 

COM-IoT Technologies, the Dubai-based security and smart city solutions provider has announced that it will showcase its intelligent security solution utilizing LiDAR technology provided by Quanery at Dubai’s GITEX conference.

The 124th Canton Fair has kicked off today (October 15th) at Pazhou International Exhibition Complex in Guangzhou. The LED Bulb Expert, Shanghai Wellmax Lighting (WELLMAX) has participated in this event, and again amazed the global clients by showcasing its latest technology and products.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has reported its testing of a new system equipped with wind LIDAR (light detection and ranging) and water vapor DIAL (differential absorption LIDAR). The testing is aimed at developing measuring methods to forecast torrential rain.

imec as a world-leading R&D center and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technology has been dedicated to using the power of technology to improve lives. The institute has gathered researchers from around the world to transform conceptual ideas into solid solutions to tackle real world problems. imec has also been extending its collaboration with international partners and has set up its first R&D center outside Europe in Hsinchu, Taiwan, ten years ago.

Lumenari, a U.S.-based material research company specializing in narrow-bandwidth LED phosphors, has announced it has raised US$ 3 million in Series A funding. The company will use the capital to complete an advanced lab-scale manufacturing line for its Emerald™ technology. Moreover, it plans to establish testing partnerships with packaged LED suppliers and pass initial qualification testing. 

Taiwanese LED package company Everlight and Japanese LED producer Nichia have continued their dispute regarding the patent of YAG. On October 1st 2018, the Supreme Court of the United State has confirmed the invalidity of Nichia’s assertions about its YAG patents.

  Scientists have continuously worked on improving the performance of LED. LED based on Perovskite (PLED) could be a new approach. Scientists have found out that the performance of the material surpasses OLED and that it could be processed with low cost solutions. Two research teams have published their studies of perovskite LED on Nature in October, notifying the potential of its further development.

Seoul Semiconductor reported that it and Seoul Viosys have successfully resolved two patent infringement lawsuits filed in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Central District of California against Archipelago Lighting, a U.S.-based LED lighting company. 

Aside from its practicality, LED has also provided artists a new approach to present their creativity. A German artist, Karin Sander has created a “transcendental elevator” as an exhibition space for students at the University of Art in Linz which is simultaneously an artistic object, an appliance and an icon. Zumtobel has helped to make the elevator shine in different colors on the rooftops of the university.

The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan has announced that the licensing scheme for its comprehensive patent on red phosphor has been changed since October 1, 2018. The red phosphor patent was divided into two groups, a group of materials and manufacturing patents related to the manufacture of phosphors and a group of application patents related to the manufacture of LED devices. NIMS will enter new licensing contracts with companies to which these patents are applicable.

Signify has announced the launch of Interact Pro, a multi-tasking, smart lighting system and software developed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The lighting company has been extending its business in connected lighting systems, software and services and has released IoT-ready products to new customer segments.

Chinese panel maker BOE has attempted to supply its OLED panels to Samsung Electronics, according to Korean media, The Investor. The report said BOE has been working on samples for the panels used in Samsung’s Galaxy Watch.

In recent years, LED lighting has been popularized in the lighting application. With the development of smart city and smart lighting, LED bulbs are also developing in the direction of intelligence and digitization. However, the penetration rate of smart lighting in home applications is still low. One of the main reasons is that the operation system of the smart lighting is too complicated for users to use.

Prices of mainstream LED package products in the Chinese market dropped slightly in September, according to the latest price report released by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.