2017-2018 is a pivotal period for the display industry. Companies are scrambling for new display technologies to bring better user experience with devices that sport them. Micro LED display technology is believed to combine the LED and display industries together to create a supply chain rolling out screen products more appealing, power-saving, and refined. This chain is even anticipated to replace a part of the current LCD chain worth USD 30-40 billion in the future (see here). The Korean Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) revealed two months ago a refined roll-transfer technology which enables a successful mass Micro LED transfer onto flexible target substrates.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is saving the state approximately $42,000 per year on energy costs by switching thousands of compact fluorescent light bulbs to LED light bulbs. 

On September 5, TUV Rheinland issued Zigbee 3.0 certification for the LEEDARSON LED Dimmable Bulb. This is the first LED light in the world to be officially Zigbee 3.0 certified and implement Green Power Proxy Basic (GPPB) functionality.

White LEDs can be made even more efficient and powerful, photonics researchers of the University of Twente and Philips Lighting now prove. They found a detailed way for describing the light that stays inside the LED by absorption and scattering. This is very valuable information for the design process.

EarthTronics, dedicated to developing innovative energy efficient lighting products that provide a positive economic and environmental impact for its customers, introduces a 5000K color temperature LED Floodlight series to provide security and brilliant, exterior illumination for commercial, industrial and municipal facilities.

Aclara, a supplier of smart infrastructure solutions (SIS) to electric, gas and water utilities around the world, announces that its SGM1400 SMETS2 (smart metering equipment technical specifications: second version) has been awarded Commercial Product Assurance (CPA) certification by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Sengled, an expert of intelligent lighting products that integrate consumer electronics inside energy efficient LED light bulbs, announced their Element smart lighting capabilities are now compatible with the Wink smart home platform.

Trilliant, a provider of IoT and smart energy communications solutions, signed a deal on August 15 with Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) to deploy Southeast Asia's first smart city project.

Trends in the display industry are heavily influenced by the developments in the consumer electronics markets, and this is seen in the rapid growth of the OLED panel market due to the rising demand from smartphone and TV brands. 

Delphi Automotive PLC has signed a commercial partnership agreement with LeddarTech, a Canadian company developing solid-state LiDAR technology.

Israeli-based LiDAR developer Innoviz Technologies announced in early September that it has raised $65 million in Series B funding as its groundbreaking LiDAR solution moves into mass production. Strategic partners and global experts in automated driving solutions Delphi Automotive PLC and Magna International participated in the round, along with additional new investors including 360 Capital Partners, Glory Ventures, Naver and others. All Series A investors, including Zohar Zisapel, Vertex Venture Capital, Magma Venture Partners, Amiti Ventures and Delek Motors, participated in this round. A second closing of this round is expected to be announced soon, introducing additional strategic partners.

Environmental Lights announced the launch of the PowerTrack System, an affordable and dynamic UL-recognized solution for distributing low-voltage power to LED lighting.

Access Fixtures launches a new style of bollard light. The 21w ATRI LED walkway lights are designed with 5-inch bases and elegant form factors to complement any commercial or residential space. The contemporary, open-top of the ATRI bollard light emits a uniform, shadow-free light ideal for illuminating walkways, parking lots, and entrances without any risk of condensation build-up within the housing.

Leviton announced that the Decora Smart™ with Wi-Fi Technology 1000W Universal LED/Incandescent Dimmer received a 2017 Lighting for Tomorrow award in the category of Connected Lighting. Sponsored by the American Lighting Association, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency and UL, Lighting for Tomorrow is a competition that challenges manufacturers to develop residential lighting products that can successfully incorporate advances in both design and energy efficiency.

More than eight years after the official opening of the stadium, the WWK Arena in Augsburg finally gets a new and impressive façade. For this purpose, Zumtobel has developed “light tubes”, a special luminaire that is integrated into the unique façade structure, making it an architectural highlight.

Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) together with the world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies imec and Holst Centre, showcase an ultra-high resolution display realized by photolithography patterning of organic light emitting diode (OLED) arrays. The results pave the way to cost-effective manufacturing of fine, side-by-side pixels in OLEDs, and will be presented at the annual International Smart Display and Touch Panel Exhibition, Touch Taiwan, in Taipei, Taiwan ROC, Sep 20 – Sep 22.

Acuity Brands announced the nLight ECLYPSE® lighting controller has won the Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2017 Product of the Year - Silver Award in the Lighting Controls category. Now in its 13th year, the Consulting-Specifying Engineer Product of the Year contest is the premier reader-choice award for new products in the HVAC, lighting, fire, electrical and plumbing systems engineering markets.

DigitalTown, a provider of smart city portal solutions, announced the launch of a Blockchain-based Distributed Ledger for managing shared ownership of each city in its global network of city portals. The unprecedented move heralds a new era for empowering public-private partnership in the development of thriving local economies.

Research published today in Scientific Reports shows that light from RayVio's 293nm ultraviolet (UV) LED is more efficient than sunlight at producing vitamin D3 in skin samples. Tyler Kalajian and his research team, led by Dr. Michael F. Holick, Ph.D., M.D., and supported by Boston University School of Medicine and a Boston University Ignition Award, found that skin samples exposed to RayVio's UV LED for just 0.52 minutes produced more than twice as much vitamin D3 as samples exposed to 32.5 minutes of sunlight.

More than 200 outdoor LED luminaires from Osram Lighting Solutions bathe the municipality of Balgheim in new light. Thanks to the refurbishment of their lighting the southern Baden district in Germany achieves not only distinctly improved quality of light but also significantly cuts its energy costs. The long-life, low maintenance LED technology also reduces costs for maintenance and repair.  

Ultravision International, a US-based manufacturer and distributor of LED displays and LED lighting, and American Lighting Technologies, dba Lighting Technologies, have reached a mutual agreement to resolve Ultravision v Lighting Technologies and dismiss two patent infringement litigations pending in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Cree announces the expansion of its award-winning bulb family with the launch of new high lumen directional LED bulbs designed specifically for rooms with high ceilings and for consumers who want more light. The portfolio delivers the brightest flood lights available on the market today with new BR30 100W replacements, as well as R20 75W lamps. The new bulbs uphold Cree’s commitment to offer consumers high quality, no compromise LED bulbs that provide better light experiences for all applications, homes and lifestyles.

Wall lights come in many diverse shapes, colours &  sizes. However, they do have one thing in common, they are all a great way to add signature style to a room’s look and feel. 

Seoul Semiconductor announced on Sept. 19, 2017 that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit, together with its affiliate, Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd., against Archipelago Lighting, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

AIXTRON announced that it has received an order for an AIX G5+ platform from Swedish-American company glō-USA, Inc. The group focuses on the commercialization of Micro-LED products based on their proprietary defect-free GaN nanowires technology. Such 3D structures enable the growth of Micro LEDs while maintaining the reliability of an inorganic material system. AIXTRON’s AIX G5+ Planetary Reactor® system was selected in the scope of glō’s strategic expansion and will be delivered with an 8x150 mm configuration in the course of Q4/2017.

At Semicon Taiwan 2017, PlayNitride showcased both single-color and multi-color transparent Micro LED displays for wearable devices and game consoles. With a transparency level up to 50%, those displays, once upsized, can be used on more applications, which possibly leads the market of Micro LED to enlarge. On the other, in response to clients’ needs for fine-pitch LED displays, PlayNitride also gets Mini LED under development. Its Mini LED displays as of now are able to reach P 0.75 (0.75 mm per pixel pitch). The company attempts to develop Micro LED displays of larger sizes and anticipates to roll out its innovations in 2018 at the earliest.

Lighting designers from Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, have collaborated with automotive company Renault on a unique concept car and smart home unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show (September 14-24). The Renault SYMBIOZ autonomous electric and connected car is not just a car.

The new ADL-83Y51TL offers a high performance and low cost solution for any application requiring high power NIR radiation with a longitudinal single mode beam profile. Key application areas would be those using camera-supported gesture controls as well medical engineering, printing and security (IR lighting).

Parks and Street Lights Office, Taipei City Government has been replacing HPS lamps with LED lamps that save more energy and are much brighter since early 2017. A new NTD 240 million budget will be granted to remove the remaining 20 thousand HPS lamps in 2018. The project is expected to be completed by the end of June, 2018. HPS lamp will soon be history.

Samsung Electronics today announced two new additions to its chip-scale package (CSP) line-up: LM101B, a 1W-class mid-power LED, and LH231B, a 5W-class high-power LED. Built with enhanced CSP technology, the new LED packages deliver industry-leading efficacy and reliability for spotlights and high-bay lighting applications.