The COVID-19 outbreak has spurred people’s awareness in disinfection and roused demands for related products and applications. UVC LEDs with germicidal function thus become popular among consumers and brands of home appliance. LG Electronics launched a new refrigerator with ice and water purifier using UVC LED technology. A UVC LED is equipped at the outlet of the water purifier of the refrigerator and is able to diminish 99.99% E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus based on the Korea Construction & Living Environment Research Institute (KCL) t...

LG is joining the business of LED cinema screen to compete against its rival Samsung, reported by Aju News, a Korea-based media. It was reported in April that LG has registered a trademark for LG LED Cinema on March 31, 2020, to prepare for related business. Under the trademark, LEG plans to release LED signage for theaters. LG reported planned to release its cinema LED products at CinemaCon 2020 in Las Vegas, USA, but the event has been cancelled due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, as a proactively player in the display industry, LG has already i...

Canadian LiDAR technology developer LeddarTech has been working with its investor Osram on the LiDAR platform “PERCEPT.” Osram said that it is developing the first flexible solid state LiDAR focusing on mid to long range sensing and targeting the automotive mass market. (Image: Osram) The PERCEPT LiDAR will comprise Osram’s laser emitters and LeddarTech’s processing software. With these featured components, Osram aims to develop a LiDAR with the measuring approach of ToF. The LiDAR platform will serve long- a...

Researchers at the lab of Tobias Kippenberg at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne found a new way to implement a parallel FMCW LiDAR engine by using integrated nonlinear photonic circuitry. They coupled a single FMCW laser into a silicon-nitride planar microresonator, where the continuous wave laser light is converted into a stable optical pulse train due to the double balance of dispersion, nonlinearity, cavity pumping and loss. The study has been published in Nature. Coherent laser ranging, also known as frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) LiDA...

SANANBIO, the joint venture of Sanan Optoelectronics and Chinese Academy of Science, announced that it will work on an indoor farming project in Qatar with its strategy partner Hode Agtech, an agri-tech company based in Guangdong, China. The two Chinese companies signed an agreement to develop vertical farming in Qatar to push agriculture transformation and restructure local agriculture supply chain. (Image: SANANBIO) Located in desert, Qatar is highly depending on food import especially for fresh vegetables. 90% of the vegetable consumed in Qatar co...

COVID-19 pandemic has led to lockdowns across the world with pause in business operation and production, resulting enormous impact globally. The technology industry, as one of the most affected field, not only needs to tackle the challenges brought by the coronavirus but also has to reconsider its strategies and operating plans for the post-pandemic world. As for the LED industry, since the supply chain mostly locates in Asia with the majority of production coming from China, plus high inventory due to oversupply in the past few years, the coronavirus epidemic has relatively s...

Canada-based Elevate Farms announced its agreement with North Star Agriculture for an initial build-out commitment of US$ 10 million to bring vertical farming and ‎‎‎production of leafy green vegetables, to northern Canada including Yukon and other isolated northern territories. Elevate and North Star have agreed to develop and construct a series of automated large-scale facilities (CEF Facilities) dedicated to the mass ‎production of leafy green plants implementing, among other techniques, the use of patented ‎LED lighting, moving grow ‎boxes a...

U.S.-based LiDAR technology developer Velodyn Lidar recently announced its partnership with two 3D mapping technology solutions providers. Velodyne and GeoSLAM, a UK-based 3D geospatial technology supplier, signed a multi-year sales agreement to use LiDAR sensors in the mobile scanner for 3D mapping. LiDAR sensors from Velodyne enable GeoSLAM systems to achieve data capture of intricate measurements from up to 100 meters away. The mobile scanner can be wide applied for building information modeling (BIM), construction, real estate, surveying and mining...

Osram Opto Semiconductors introduced its new LED product family which suits a wide range of applications. The new Synios S 2222 family can be adopted for customized lighting solutions, electronic devices, ambient lighting for trains and planes and architectural lighting. (Image: Osram) Featuring compact size and brightness, Osram’s Synios S 2222 product family provides an efficient and flexible platform for a variety of low- and mid-power applications (from 10 mA to 200 mA). The product family includes colors of white, blue, green, yellow, red and deep red. ...

Seoul Viosys, the subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor focusing on UV LED technology, announced that its Violeds technology has been adopted in washing machines and are now mass produced by Chinese companies Hisense and Haier. The laundry tank sometimes contains invisible contamination and germs, causing odors and molds in the washing machine. By implementing Violeds technology from Seoul Viosys, the Chinese companies solved the problem of laundry tank sterilization and deodorization. Seoul Viosys posted its 1Q20 financial results last week noting that its business p...

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City is using UV lamps to sanitize subway cars and buses for COVID-19 infection prevention, reported New York Daily News. MTA announced that it will close the subway system from one to five a.m. every day since May 6, 2020 to deep clean and disinfect all the trains and buses to combat coronavirus. One of its disinfecting solution is using UV lamps to deliver UVC radiation for diminishing bacteria, viruses and other pathogens in the cars. (Image: Pixabay) The disinfection project applying U...

Volvo unveiled its plan to launch its next generation self-driving car in 2022 by integrating LiDAR technology supported by Luminar. Volvo Cars, the Sweden-based company now owned by Geely Holding of China, said that its next generation SPA2 modular vehicle architecture will be available as hardware-ready for autonomous drive from production start in 2022,with the Luminar LiDAR seamlessly integrated into the roof. (Image: Volvo/Luminar) The LiDAR technology of Volvo’ new car is supported by Luminar, a LiDAR startup company aiming to make cost ...

Connected streetlights and smart city solution supplier Ubicquia announced that it has acquired smart city platform from GE Current, a Daintree Company. Ubicquia bought all CityIQ® assets including technology, related patents and contracts with major customers and cities across the US and Canada. In addition, all CityIQ Development, Sales and Customer Success team members across Montreal and Cleveland will be fully integrated into Ubicquia’s organization. (Image: Ubicquia) The CityIQ platform has been applied in several cities in the U.S. and ...

Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria has develop a new technology by using LED instead of laser as light sources to make metal component by 3D printing. The research project is named Selective LED-based Melting (SLEDM). SLEDM uses high-power LEDs as light source to melt metal powder for 3D printing manufacturing. The technology is similar to selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM), in which metal powder is melted by means of a laser or electron beam and built up into a component layer by layer. However, by replacin...

Healthe announced the expansion of the Cleanse® Series that uses UV light which the company claims to be safe for human exposure to continuously sanitize public environments using UV light The UV light equipped series include Cleanse Portal, Cleanse Downlight and Cleanse Air-Sanitizing Troffer. The Cleanse Portal is a free-standing walkthrough arch sanitizer, similar in size and shape to a metal detector, that inactivates bacteria and viruses on skin, clothing and goods with a dosage requirement as low as 20 seconds. The Cleanse Downlight combines general illum...

Signify has teamed up with Russian innovative farming company RIAT to pioneer the growing of tomatoes and cucumbers in a vertical farm without daylight. During the research phase in 2019, RIAT achieved a yield comparable to advanced traditional greenhouses using Philips GreenPower LED grow lights. To cultivate tomatoes and cucumbers that require intensive lighting vertically without the exposure of daylight, sufficient lighting system is critical. Signify supplied its LED grow lights to the Russian company to help it achieving a yield performance comparable to tradit...

In a report covered by Driving Vision News (DVN) in December 2019, we found that Valeo’s PictureBeam system was tested. The adaptive driving beam (ADB) system was co-developed by Valeo and Cree with a resolution of nearly 4000 pixels to deliver road marking functions. ADB system with high resolution is a trend for automotive lighting. Many automotive component manufacturers have teamed up with LED companies to develop LED array solutions based on Micro LEDs. The PictureBeam system created by Valeo and Cree is one of them. The two companies demonst...

Velodyne Lidar announced a three-year agreement with French autonomous vehicle specialist EasyMile. EasyMile uses Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors in production of its EZ10 autonomous passenger shuttles that are deployed on public and private roads in more than 30 countries around the world. (Image: Velodyne Lidar/EasyMile) EasyMile will enhance its EZ10 shuttle fleet with Velodyne’s sensors for safe and efficient navigation on roadways. Electric and driverless, the EZ10 shuttle was the one of the first autonomous shuttles launched in April 2015. It has...

A U.S. based LED company Atomic Blue announced the launch of its high-powered UV-C LED light. The light has been tested by the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. government on the COVID-19 Virus and shown to eradicate the virus by 99.9999%. The study was conducted in a controlled laboratory setting on N95 masks and steel surfaces. According to the NIH website: "N95 respirators can be decontaminated effectively and maintain functional integrity for up to three uses. N95 respirators are designed for single-use and are worn by healthcare provid...

LiDAR supplier Quanergy Systems announced the expansion of its Flow Management™ Platform to support solutions that enforce social distancing amid the crisis of COVID-19 pandemic to halt the spread of disease. These solutions will assist businesses and public entities around the world in returning to work while keeping people safe. Quanergy’s Flow Management Platform combining 3D LiDAR sensors and AI-powered QORTEX™ Perception Software enables the development of social distancing solutions to anonymously and accurately track and analyze t...

A research team consisting of material science and nanotechnology specialist and virologist is working on developing a protective film based on nanostructure as a novel mask material to diminish virus and protect healthcare professionals from infection. Sudipta Seal, an engineer specializing in material science and nanotechnology, initiated a project with Griffith Parks, a virologist at College of Medicine of University of Central Florida (UCF) to create nanostructures that can capture the virus and then trigger a chemical reaction using UV light to destroy it. The scienti...

A wide range of disinfecting products adopting UV LEDs or UV lamps are become a hit in the consumer electronics market as people are using them to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, The International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) and RadTech North America consisting of UV equipment vendors, scientists, engineers, consultants, and members of the medical profession published a press release to inform the public that UV light is not safe to be used directly on the human body. (Image: Pixabay) These organizations noted that there are no protocols t...

Sweden-based horticulture lighting technology provider Heliospectra announced a new order from Turner Construction in Miami, Florida. The systems integrator and supplier will install the controllable spectra ELIXIA LED lights for several upcoming greenhouse facilities. Turner Construction is leading the design, construction, and installation services for the commercial-scale greenhouse projects across the United States in 2020. The Heliospectra ELIXIA 600W LED light will benefit the greenhouse projects by improving crop quality and performance in a wide v...

Velodyne Lidar announced its partnership with ground support equipment provider TLD. The two companies signed a three-year agreement that TLD will LiDAR sensors from Velodyne for manufacture its TractEasy autonomous electric baggage tractor for airport and industrial operation. (Image: Velodyne/TLD) TLD will grow its TractEasy tractor fleet with Velodyne’s sensors for safe and efficient navigation on roadways in a variety of weather conditions. TractEasy is a zero-emission tow tractor that transfers baggage and freight from airport terminals to aircra...

A new study conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) in Germany showed that full spectrum LED products deliver better visual comfort compared to standard LED products. Full spectrum LEDs are usually categorized as those emitting light similar in composition to natural sunlight. The soon-to-be published Fraunhofer IBP study incorporated a technical comparison of the LED spectra to daylight spectra, a literature review addressing the effect of light spectra on humans, and a psychological study with 83 persons in an office setting. Each par...

LiDAR sensing technology is now commonly known as a solution for automotive driving and ADAS system, but the technology also leverage its edges in a time of the COVID-19 crisis. An indoor motion analysis software developer, iinsider, released SafeDistance, a free upgrade to its LiDAR-powered solution for monitoring and analyzing crowd density in public spaces. The software utilizes LiDAR sensors and 3D perception software from Quanergy to help airport, venue and facility managers monitor and mitigate crowding and congestion, and maintain safe distancing within t...

The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed a free online tool, the horticulture luminaire calculator, to assist growers evaluating the performance, efficiency, and economics of a wide variety of horticultural luminaires, typically used in greenhouses and other controlled agricultural environments. The horticulture luminaire calculator enables growers to compare different luminaires and choose the optimize solutions for their applications. (Image: LRC) Horticulture lighting is become more significant with indoor farming and high-...

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) will invest US$100 million to four agri-tech companies to set up high-tech agricultural facilities in Abu Dhabi including the world’s largest vertical farm for R&D and other production farms to solve the challenge of local food production. The ADIO partners include AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ and Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI). AeroFarms from the U.S. will build a new 8200 square meter indoor vertical farm focusing on R&D and commercialization of relevant local crops by leveraging its expertise a...

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) announced a strategic collaboration to address the global issue of light pollution that negatively affects our environment and the human condition. The two parties adopted Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting and seek to guide the outdoor lighting industry in the U.S. and beyond to be more socially and environmentally responsible. The five principles addressed that light at night should be with clear purpose and used in necessary areas in low level and warmer colo...

UC Santa Barbara’s Solid State Lighting & Energy Electronics Center (SSLEEC) and member companies are developing UV LEDs that have the ability to decontaminate surfaces — and potentially air and water — that have come in contact with the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 virus) to combat the world spreading disease. Recently, much attention has turned to the power of UV light to inactivate the novel coronavirus and Seoul Semiconductor, a SSLEEC member company, reported its achievement of “99.9% sterilization of coronavirus (COVID...