Many products being showcased at LED Expo Thailand 2016 that took place from April 19-22, 2016 in Bangkok attracted more attention than others. Filament LED bulb is one of the most popular items, though it has only been introduced to the market a few years ago. Be it Taiwanese manufacturers, Chinese luminaire makers, Thai manufacturers and foreign companies   such as Philips, the launch of filament LEDs washed over Thailand’s lighting market. Aside from local labels that had entered the well-known local channel, HomePro, buyers are mainly distributors, contractors and tenders.

LED Expo Thailand 2016 that took place from April 19-22, 2016 at IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand is the largest LED exhibition held in southeast Asian district. Compared to Singapore’s economic role as a hub, the Thailand-based LED exhibition emphasizes more on creating business opportunities for local manufacturers and international ones. Buyers are mainly local Thai manufacturers, foreign investors that focus on southeast Asian market as well as district distributors. Quite a few buyers are based in Vietnam and Singapore. Vietnam, at the same time, is also one of Taiwanese manufacturers’ targeting markets.

As one of the top five power supply vendors worldwide, FSP Group has built up many years of experience in the LED lighting sector. At this year LIGHTFAIR International (LFI) in San Diego from April 26 to 28, FSP will present its wide range of products related to outdoor industrial lighting, smart lighting and firmware solutions. The event will also mark the official entry of the company’s customized lighting solutions to the U.S. market.

The rapid growth of Southeast Asia market has always been attractive to investors while local exhibitions create collaboration and partnership opportunities for foreign manufacturers taping into the market. This year, Energy efficient technologies were added to the LED Expo Thailand 2016 that took place from April 19-22, 2016 at IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand, including solar power, energy efficient products. Meanwhile, LED and lighting related exhibitions found exhibitors from southeast Asia, including Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.

Micro LEDs are gaining traction in the LED industry since it is a technology that industry experts view as capable of breaking LCDs low light efficiency, and achieve “real LED display” technology. Current LCD designs are very inefficient in light output, with only an estimated 10% light emission. Light emitted from the LED backlight module has to travel through polarization filters, TFT, liquid crystals, and color filters, about 90% of light is trapped in these layered structures.

Several notable trends LEDinside observed at Taiwan International Lighting Show (TILS) 2016, which took place at Nangang Exhibition Hall from April 12-16, 2016 in Taipei, was more manufacturers showcasing filament LED bulbs, smart lighting products, and an emphasis on reducing glare in luminaire designs.

Lextar’s booth highlighted more advanced lighting technology at the lighting show this year, including several IR LED solutions, automotive lighting and UV LED modules at Taiwan International Lighting Show (TILS) 2016, which took place at Nangang Exhibition Hall from April 12-16, 2016 in Taipei.

British test lab Intertek has started to offer decorative LED Christmas light testing services in Taiwan, said company representatives at Taiwan International Lighting Show 2016 (TILS 2016) jointly organized by TAITRA, SEMI and ITRI that took place last week in Nangang Exhibition Hall Center, Taiwan.

Industrial lighting specialist Nanya Photonics and luminaire manufacturer China Electric (or also known as TOA Lighting) both featured smart LED hospital lighting at the four-day Taiwan International Lighting Show (TILS 2016) that took place in Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei from April 12-16, 2016.

Miniaturization and rising efficiency in LED chip designs has initiated redesigns in heat sinks, which are becoming more compact and turning to new designs to achieve faster thermal dissipation, said MechaTronix General Manager Koen Vangorp during an interview with LEDinside at Taiwan International Lighting Show 2016 (TILS) that took place recently in Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei.

The LED market contracted for the first time in 2015, reporting a decline of 3%, due to drastic price cuts. However, the dire market condition is not expected to persist this year, said Roger Chu, Director of Research, LEDinside at a forum the company organized at Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei, Taiwan during Taipei International Lighting Show (TILS 2016), which runs from April 13-16, 2016.

Emerging IR LED market applications in wearables and virtual reality device markets are attracting more manufacturers to join, said representatives from Osram and LiteOn at IR+UV Summit that organized by SEMI that took place at Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei, Taiwan on Thursday.

The LED industry is hunting for innovative technologies and application fields, as lighting and backlight market growth wane. UV LEDs over the past year has caught many LED manufacturers attention, the budding UV-A LED market application sector in nail curing, air purification, and printing applications is attracting top LED players including Nichia and Osram to invest in the sector. UV-C LED or DUV LED that has a wavelength ranging from 200 nm to 280 nm remains a market sector that barely exists at the moment, due to certain technical challenges that call for new solutions.

What’s next for the LED industry? Will CSP LEDs become a widely used light source in general lighting? These were some of the questions industry insiders asked at LED Executive Summit 2016 hosted by SEMI, which took place at Nangang Exhibition Centre, Taipei, Taiwan on Wednesday. 

LED automotive lighting market has gained traction over the last few years, and each year manufacturers are developing more advanced products to meet market demands. At Taipei AMPA 2016, which took place at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center and Hall 1 TWTC Exhibition Hall 1 Area A from April 6-9, 2016, LEDinside observed several distinctive market trends:

Market sectors encompassing telecommunications, consumer electronics, innovative energy applications in transportation, electricity generation and other market sectors are increasingly valuing power semiconductor devices as usage of these components spreads throughout above listed markets. The dawn of “smart manufacturing in China” has provided new market opportunities in the power semiconductor industry, and spurred market growth. Some of these trends were discussed at “Power Semiconductor Forum” during SEMICON China 2016 organized by SEMI, which took place on March 17 in Shanghai.

  As LED lighting technology matures and the price of LEDs lighting products crashes to ultra-low prices, where vendors are even giving products away as complimentary goods, many manufacturers are choosing to demonstrate OLED lighting technology and products at the Lighting + Building 2016. These new generation OLED light sources were the new highlights at the exhibition. Quite a few manufacturers showcased OLED technology this year but most of them were Korean, Japanese and European OLED manufacturers. The following are technology developments of these leading OLED companies this year.

There were few innovative breakthrough technologies at this year’s Light+Building show organized by Messe Frankfurt that concluded last Friday in Frankfurt, Germany, manufacturers were more focused on optimizing existing technology. Still LEDinside observed several trends that stood out:

One of the top themes at Light + Building 2016 is the balance between design and function. Under the proposed themes in Hall 3, each luminaire designer and manufacturer have their own featuring products and market positions. Digitalization of light and human centric lighting has been a popular topic in recent years.

Top LED material manufacturer Dow Corning showcased a prototype silicone-based material for UV LED applications at the biennial Light+Building 2016, which takes place this week at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Center in Germany. 

Maturation of LED lighting technology has driven LED manufacturers to highlight smart lighting and control systems at Light+Building 2016, which takes place this week at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Center in Germany. Below is a summary of major manufacturers new smart lighting products, and trends we’ve observed:

At the biggest international biannual lighting show, Light +Building 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany, exhibitors try to dazzle visitors with innovative technology or breathtaking visual effects. Samsung, though, has taken a more down to earth approach this year and removed some of the wow factor. Instead, it is focusing on acquiring orders and sealing business deals with products already in the mass production phase at the show.

The pavilions at Light + Building 2016 that runs from March 13-18, at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Center in Germany, followed the usual arrangements from past years of dividing the exhibitions into main lighting applications and applied categories. The main difference at this year’s show was categorizations were simplified this year. Aside from existing decorative lightings, artistic luminaires, lighting components and technologies, emphasis was drawn to smart lighting and lighting control solutions. Many enterprises had the same booth location to make it easier for visitors to find them.

Lighting innovations from Osram lead the way into the future. Intelligent street lights that find and assign parking places, infrared lighting solutions that unlock smartphones via iris scan or transmitting units integrated into luminaires that  navigate people through buildings are just a few of the new solutions that Osram will present at this year's Light + Building show starting on March 13 in Frankfurt. A focus at the booth will be on intelligent and efficient lighting solutions for cities and buildings, but also present pioneering innovations in other areas. "Our products have set major trends in the lighting market for more than 100 years - and they will also do so at Light + Building 2016", said Olaf Berlien, Chief Executive Officer of OSRAM Licht AG.

At Lighting Japan 2016, many Taiwan- based manufacturers were found to be still optimistic of the Japanese market outlook, while some of the participated exhibitors showcased their products at Lighting Japan for the first time this year. Many of the companies were aiming to find new clients or partners.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) has been developing flip chip LEDs for a long time, since 2015 the company released its flip chip integrated high power light source solution last year at Taipei AMPA 2015, which received positive feedback from the industry. In 2016, the company launched an innovative CSP components at LIGHTING JAPAN 2016 that are thinner with higher lumen per watt, enabling ultra- high efficacy of (>200 lm/W), aiming for supplying portable electronics backlights and automotive light source market (TS16949 certified) that requires high reliability.

Reed Japan, the organizer of Nepcon Japan 2016 and Lighting Japan 2016, has made revolutionary changes in its exhibition plan and introduced more advanced technologies and manufacturers to broaden the industry’s horizon. Lighting Japan 2016 held at Tokyo Big Sight from January 13-15 this year showcased advanced smart lighting technologies and international lighting components. In an exclusive interview with LEDinside, Reed Japan Show Director Yuhi Maenozo and the company’s Media Organizer Yuki Omichi, shared some of their valuable insights.

Current LED chip and lamp prices have plummeted because there are too many similar competitors on the market, said Geet van der Meer, Head of Osram's LED Lamps and Systems business unit recently at a Lighting Japan 2016 forum. To cope with the challenging environment, companies are focusing on product quality, design, digitalization and intelligent devices to pave an alternative road map for LED lighting.

Speaking at a forum at Lighting Japan 2016, which runs from January 13-15 this year at Tokyo Big Sight, Japan, Nobel laureate Shuji Nakamura pinpointed GaN-on-GaN LED and Laser Diodes (LD) as the emerging lighting technologies of the future.

One of Japan’s largest lighting exhibitions to be kicked off in 2016, Lighting Japan, will take place on Jan. 13, 2016 this year at Tokyo Big Sight. The show will offer a comprehensive overview of the latest global LED lighting trends in 2016, and new technology developments.