Cree Inc., announces that University of California, Davis is joining the LED University™ program in conjunction with the unveiling of new bi-level LED lighting at UC Davis’ South Entry Parking Structure. The LED light fixtures, featuring activity-sensing technology adapted and developed at California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at UC Davis, provide enhanced nighttime visibility while reducing energy consumption by up to 80% compared with the metal-halide fixtures that were replaced.

Minnesota-based Seasonal Impressions has launched new LED retrofit bulbs that will give commercial and recreational users more flexibility in their lighting displays.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have developed and demonstrated a new type of LED with significantly improved lighting performance and energy efficiency. The researchers worked in collaboration with Samsung Electro-Mechanics to develop the new polarization-matched LED that they say exhibits an 18 percent increase in light output and a 22 percent increase in wall-plug efficiency, which essentially measures the amount of electricity the LED converts into light.

Luna Road Ltd, specialized in the design, manufacture, supply, and installation of the new high-tech "cat's eyes," now known as Luna Road Lights, is working to unveil their new Eco-Friendly Luna Road Light technology to countries all around the globe.

OQO Inc. of San Francisco unveiled the first computer with a screen of organic light-emitting diodes last week at the International Consumer Electronics show. The company touted this technology would be as the future of both displays and lighting.

Validity Sensors, Inc., a privately-held biometric sensor company specializing in convenient, secure and reliable fingerprint authentication solutions, launched their latest innovation LED fingerprint sensor. Validity offers bi-color LEDs in fingerprint sensors, which enhances end-users’ experience by alerting them when a finger swipe is required and whether a swipe was accepted or not. The LED feature also allows for improved aesthetics and user experience for Notebook PCs and other consumer electronic devices.

Orb Optronix has measured several solid state lighting products that cause retinal injury if viewed directly. The products that exceed risk group category RG-1 blue light hazard limits in the ANSI/IESNA RP-27.3-07 ‘Recommended Practice for Photobiological Safety for Lamps, Risk Group Classification and Labeling’ standard along with IEC 62471:2006. The RG-2 categorization cautions against direct viewing of light sources with the human eye.

Luminus Devices, Inc. is showcasing its patented PhlatLight LED products at CES from January 8 to 11. The company will demonstrate PhlatLight technology that combines the benefits of both LED and laser technologies at CES 2009. This unique solid state lighting technology is ideal for display and illumination applications that require high brightness and the efficient harnessing of light from a small point source. Luminus’s patented PhlatLight® LED products are the brightest. The following products are on display:

Vivitek Corporation, a leader in the environmentally responsible manufacture of today's most innovative visual display and presentation products, will be showing its first 1080p LED projector at the 2009 CES this week in Las Vegas. The quiet, new HC7500A, breakthrough projector, provides the growing HD home theater market with the industry's brightest, pure-color, video to-date.

Ushio Lighting Inc. has started sample shipment of the "LED Filament Bulb," a light bulb that uses LEDs as its "filaments." The company says the bulbs have a color temperature of 2,500K and a transparent glass bulb.

Avago Technologies has announced a new competitively priced 1-Watt high power LED emitter for use in solid-state lighting applications. The company said this LED emitter is ideal for use in architectural, contour, retail display, decorative and garden lighting applications. The ASMT-Ax00 LED features a low-profile package design, wide 130-degree viewing angle, and the ability to handle high thermal and drive currents. It comes in a variety of colors.

This year retailers have offered more LED holiday lighting choices than ever before and at lower prices. To demonstrate the energy efficiency of LED lighting and to reduce energy use, Otter Tail Power Company replaced about 780 C7 incandescent bulbs outlining the roof and corners of its general office building in Fergus Falls with C9 LED bulbs, whose bases were compatible with the existing light sets.

Cree, Inc. reported that Robert Ingram, vice chairman Pharmaceuticals of GlaxoSmithKline, was elected to the Company’s Board of Directors and to the Board’s Compensation and Governance and Nominations Committee beginning December 29, 2008. Robert Ingram does not have the electrical engineering background of some of the board members, but he has gained some notoriety for his role at the pharmaceutical giant.

Energy Focus Inc., a maker of LED lighting based in Solon, Ohio USA, announced that it has installed LED lighting to retrofit the high-bay lighting in a hanger deck on board an Arleigh Burke class Destroyer.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, the first US city to go 100% LED, will join an ever-growing list of cities with its plan to take advantage of long-lasting LED street lighting, but NYC is going to take it all one step further with new streetlight poles.

Cree Inc. has announced that it and Boston University have reached agreement with Bridgelux Inc. to settle the parties’ patent infringement litigation and to dismiss all claims and counterclaims in the suits. As part of the settlement, Bridgelux, a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., will pay royalties and license fees to settle litigation over patents held by Cree and Boston University.

One of America’s largest holiday light shows, the Winter Festival of Lights at Oglebay in Wheeling, West Virginia, started converting to LEDs this year. The energy-saving LED lights will be used in all new displays including the Mountaineer Christmas Display, added to the show this year. The conversion of all existing displays to LED lights begins in 2008 and the entire show should be LED by 2012.

Recently, Marktech Optoelectronics, Toshiba's optoelectronic partner in the U.S. expands its LED driver product family with two new high-performance devices from Toshiba - TB62777FNG and TB62778FNG. Their constant current LED drivers delivering a continuous current that can be regulated for superior illumination in the back-lighting of LCD panels, TV displays and notebook PCs, as well as light control for large RGB panel LED displays.

It’s reported that The U.S. Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C., is one of the first offices to use Cree’s LR24, a new 24-inch square LED luminaire. So far, about 1,000 LR24 have been installed in pilot accounts.

Permlight for Signs™, a division of Permlight Products, Inc., announced that it has expanded to the United Kingdom to manage increased demand for LED signage solutions from overseas customers. The company named Guy Young as national sales manager for the United Kingdom to support the expansion.

Recently, Supertex, Inc. introduced an LED driver- the HV9919, which designed to drive LEDs using a buck topology. The company said it is well suited for a variety of solid-state lighting applications, such as: industrial, architectural, signage, or decorative lighting; indicator or emergency lighting; and as a general purpose constant current source.

It’s reported that cree will be one of the 31 main suppliers featured at the "Energy Efficiency & Lighting" global technical learning and networking event, held virtually at Premier Farnell's Live EDGE EcoSphere on December 11, 2008 from 8am to midnight EST.

StockerYale Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of structured light lasers, LED modules and specialty optical fibers for industrial OEMs, medical and defense markets, introduced its first LED product — the COBRA Slim for linescan applications. The COBRA Slim family includes optical, thermal, electronic and mechanical improvements in an innovative modular concept to address linescan and web inspection from 100mm up to several meters.

ilumisys Inc., developer and producer of next-generation solid-state lighting technology, is on behalf of its parent company Altair Engineering, announced that a favorable ruling was received from the United States Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences relative to Patent Interference Number 105,602.

It’s reported that Houston plans to replace the light bulbs at all 2,381 of its traffic stops with LED bulbs that could save more than $4 million a year in electricity costs. The LED traffic signals will cost 16 times more than incandescent bulbs and last six years longer. City Council approve a $16.4 million contract for pricier signals with Siemens Building Technologies Inc.

The three-acre North Dumpling Island off the coast of Connecticut, an independent state is reportedly that installs Philips’s LED lighting system.      

Marktech LED Lighting Products, the definitive source for LED lighting products, introduces the T5 LED light tube. The high output, energy-efficient product was designed to insure the highest of quality and design to meet market demands. With an 80 CRI (color rendering index) and its slim design, the T5 is ideal for a variety of applications, including general or indirect lighting of display cases, wall washes and alcoves, in addition to backlighting of POP displays and vending machines.

The City of Chicago, IL, and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) present Chicago’s 95th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Daley Plaza. PolyBrite International announced that this year Borealis energy efficient LED light bulbs will be strung on the 85-foot tree.

Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas (SMA), announced the availability of two industrial LCD modules 10.4-inch model and 15.0-inch model. Both displays feature LED backlighting rated up to 50,000 hours of operation in all temperature ranges.

NewSight Corp of the US developed a new "3D LED Video Wall". The 3D display used LEDs as pixels for the first time in the world. The feature is a 180-inch screen with a width of 3.84m, the "3D LED Video Wall" is one of the world's largest 3D displays.