85,000 lights points in the city of Cologne, Germany, are connected with Signify’s Interact City lighting management system to make the city smarter. The installation is expected to increase the city’s energy efficiency and reduce costs while improve the safety and quality of life of the citizens. The system can also accommodate the integration of sensors into the luminaires, providing data that offer environmental benefits that go beyond lighting. RheinEnergie, which is responsible for the city’s lighting, will replace all the light points with connected luminaire...

A multi-departmental research team at Taiwan’s National Chi Nan University (NCNU) collaborated with local famers and developed a LED lighting system for water bamboo (Zizania latifolia) cultivation to improve the growth with a new design of LED lenses. The advanced technology tackled the existing issues and proved to benefit the harvest. The results were published Applied Sciences in February 2020, titled “Optimized LED-Integrated Agricultural Facilities for Adjusting the Growth of Water Bamboo (Zizania latifolia).” The optimized LED...

Signify launched new Philips IoT sensor bundles that collect and deliver data via the Interact Office connected lighting system and Environmental monitoring API’s. The new sensors that are being launched enable businesses to monitor their office environment and optimize conditions for employee health and wellbeing. (Image: Signify) The new sensor bundles can monitor occupancy, the number of people, temperature (at room and at desk level), noise levels, daylight levels, relative humidity and are Bluetooth enabled, to provide indoor positioning and navigation capabil...

Velodyne Lidar announced a multi-year sales agreement with NAVYA, an autonomous driving system provider. NAYVA is a French company expert in autonomous driving system. The company has put into service autonomous mobility solutions in 2015 and used Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors in production for its autonomous shuttle fleet that provides mobility services to cities and private sites. (Image: Velodyne Lidar/NAVYA) With the sales agreement, NAVYA plans to pursue the worldwide expansion of its shuttle with Velodyne’s sensors for precise real-time...

The coronavirus has now declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization and the infected numbers continues to rise all over the world. Products used for preventing infection thus became bestsellers everywhere. Featuring disinfecting function, UVC LED embedded products are also drawing attentions in the market. LED companies who have been progressing UV LED technologies now leverage their strengths to launch UV LED products for meeting the surging demands for disinfection applications. (Image: Pixabay) Lextar, the vertical integrated LED ...

A new type of light emitting textile may enable innovative wearable applications. Researchers at the University of Windsor in Canada published their development in the journal Matters, revealing a stretchable, lighting emitting fabric based on typical ultrasheer pantyhose coated in a thin gold film. (Image: Matters) The new development tackled some of the limitations of existing light-emitting fabrics and use the textile structure as an integral part of the wearable device design. With effective power sources, the light emitting fabric could be further developed into more fun...

Scientist at University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) have created a blue LED from a new semiconductor material halide perovskite, overcoming a major barrier to employing these cheap, easy-to-make materials in electronic devices. Published in Science Advances on January 24, the study demonstrates the technology breakthrough of applying the unstable material as halide perovskite changes with temperature, humidity and the chemical environment and their optical and electronic properties are thus disrupted. Making semiconductor diodes that emit blue light has always b...

Osram announced that it has decided to shut down server support for smart lamps from the Lightify lighting system. Osram and its system distributor LEDVANCE noted that customers are now using comprehensive Smart Home solutions with intelligent assistants to control smart lighting, instead of using a separate lighting control system or gateway. Osram will therefore be shutting down the cloud server for controlling the Lightify gateway on August 31, 2021. In the beginning of 2019, LEDVANCE finished selling the gateway while part of the Smart+ products are still s...

A research team at University College London published its development of an antimicrobial coating which kills bacteria when exposed to light. The creation can be used to coat phones screen, keyboards, and the inside of catheters and breathing tubes for prevent the spread of diseases in hospitals and healthcare institutes. The research, published today in Nature Communications, is the first to show a light activated antimicrobial coating successfully killing bacteria in low intensity, ambient light (300 Lux), such as that found in wards and waiting rooms to stop healthcare-associ...

The world spreading coronavirus has brought people’s attention to infection prevention with masks and disinfecting products in short supply. UV lights with disinfecting function also become popular. Conventional UV lights with mercury lamps have been in hot sale for disinfection with the outbreak of coronavirus, leading to shortage in materials such as quartz glass and lamp frame. UV LED, as another UV light source, also become a market focus as people are getting more aware of the infection. UV LED technology developers seize the opportunity to push their UV ...

Somfy Systems announced partnership with Osram to improve natural and artificial light management in building environments. The combination of Osram Encelium and Somfy Digital Network® (SDN) creates a centralized interface for facility managers and streamlines the light management process. This unified control experience makes it simple to maximize the combination of natural and artificial light. (Image: Somfy) “Somfy is proud to partner with Osram to simplify lighting management,” said David Parrett, Lighting and Partnerships Business Developm...

Signify announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cooper Lighting Solutions from Eaton on March 2, which follows the schedule set by the two companies. Signify also introduced its new integrated charge controller which enable solar-powered lighting. Signify reported the purchase of Cooper Lighting Solutions from Eaton in October 2019 for US$ 1.4 billion with the aim to strengthen its market position in the North American lighting market. (Image: Pixabay) Meanwhile, the Dutch company launched the new integrated Philips Combo Charge Controller which e...

It has been reported that Apple will launch new products with Mini LED backlight technology including iPad Pro and MacBook Pro in 2020 and 2021. Recently, Apple is reportedly developing six products adopting Mini LED technology including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad and a 7.9-inch iPad mini. (Image: Pixabay) Apple’s products with Mini LED display technology are believed to boost demands in the Mini LED market. Taiwan-based LED chip manufacturer Epistar, who i...

Signify announced its expanded partnership with Planet Farms, a European operator of vertical farms based in Italy. With the latest agreement, Signify will provide its horticulture LEDs and management system to Europe’s largest vertical farm to boost the quality and yield of the crops. The updated collaboration will enables Planet Farms to produce and deliver aromatic herbs and lettuce to its customers in Italy all year round. (Image: Signify) Signify has also reached an agreement to provide horticultural LED grow lights to an additional five vertical farms t...

Seoul Viosys, a subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor focusing on UV LED technology, announced that customer inquiries for its violeds UV LED products has increased more than five times over the previous month, fueled by concerns over the continuing global spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). With the growing concerns over the global spread of the coronavirus, numerous automotive companies in China are actively reviewing adoption of Seoul’s violeds UV LED technology in sterilization systems for vehicle interiors. In addition, violeds UV LED techno...

Light Engine Design’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Tall Trees LED Company, announces an expanding partnership with a prominent nutraceutical company in Oklahoma. Tall Trees will be providing technical consulting and operational management, as well as LED lighting for both the indoor and greenhouse facilities. Tall Trees LED Company, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Light Engine Design, focuses on research, development, manufacturing, and sales of Solid-State Lighting (SSL) in the Controlled Environment Agriculture industries. The facility in Oklahom...

Human centric lighting and circadian lighting applications have become popular as people are getting more aware of the effect of lighting on our physical and psychological condition. To further understand the connection between lighting and people’s wellbeing, a new study found a cell in the retina which create the effect of light on human. Researchers at the University of Washington Health Sciences (UW Medicine) identifies a cell in the retina, which plays an important role in signaling our brain centers that regulate circadian rhythms, boost alertness, help memory and co...

Velodyne Lidar announced a sales agreement with Idriverplus to provide Puck™ sensors over three years. The LiDAR sensor from Velodyne will be used in mass production of commercial autonomous vehicles, including street cleaners, passenger cars and logistics vehicles. Idriverplus is a Chinese company focusing on driverless technology and plans to place into commercial operation in China thousands of units of its unmanned, electric street cleaning vehicles, called WOXIAOBAI, with each vehicle equipped with two Puck sensors to ensure security and perception. Idri...

Samsung continues to expand the market of its cinema LED display Onyx and the screen has landed in Australia for the first time at HOYTS Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, Sydney. The new installment features Samsung’s latest 14-meter Onyx Cinema LED screen. Another 10-meter Onyx screen will also be installed at HOYTS Highpoint in Melbourne, Australia, by March 2020. (Image: Samsung) “As the cinema landscape continues to evolve globally, theaters are looking for new ways to enhance the movie-going experience,” said Hyeseung Ha,...

Energy Focus, a U.S. LED lighting company, announced that it has been awarded a contract valued at approximately US$3.4 million to supply tubular LED lighting products to the U.S. Navy by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), a combat support agency in the U.S. Department of Defense with more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world. The Company expects to deliver on the contract beginning in the second quarter of 2020 with completion expected by year-end. James Tu, Chairman & CEO of Energy Focus, said, “This contract refle...

Media from Taiwan reported that Apple has placed Mini LED orders to Innolux, a display manufacturer of the Foxconn group, for the new iPad Pro scheduled to launch in 2H20. In response to the report, Innolux announced that the company did not reveal relationships with its clients and the information was not correct. (Image: Pixabay) It was reported that Innolux has sent display samples to Apple for the new Mini LED based iPad Pro. Innolux has been a strong player in Mini LED and Micro LED technology development. As a member of the Foxconn Group, the ...

80 Acres Farms, an indoor farming operator, is growing tomatoes on one of the busiest streets in New York outside the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as part of the Guggenheim's new exhibition in collaboration with Rem Koolhaas, Countryside, The Future, which is taking place from February 20 until August 14, 2020. (Image: Guggenheim Musuem) People in New York will be able to look through a large window in the indoor farm to view a crop of fresh tomatoes being grown continuously during the next six months under precise LED lighting and other controlled conditio...

To fight against the continuously spreading coronavirus, China purchased self-driving disinfection robots with UVC light to run in hospitals. Danish company UVD Robots signed an agreement with a medical equipment supplier to the Chinese market, Sunay Healthcare Supply. The partnership will ship the UVC light equipped robots to China for hospital deployment. (Image: UVD Robots) UVD Robots is a Danish company established from a project between Odense University Hospital and Blue Robotics with their development of an UV-disinfection robot providing auto...

As the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, continues to spread across the world, people become more alert to public health issues. Hospitals, where people go seek for health care and treatment, usually gather individual with potential health problem and become a risky environment for others. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the U.S., approximately 1 in 25 patients contract healthcacre-associated infections (HAIs) in hospitals. Despite that standard cleaning procedures cover manual application of detergents and disinfectants,...

Mariana Figueiro, director of the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, continues to enhance the lighting treatment developed for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. The research team recently announced a US$ 3 million grant renewal from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Figueiro has demonstrated that providing light exposure of certain amounts and qualities throughout the day can improves sleep patterns, sociability, and agitation, while decreasing symptoms of depression. With the latest grant renewal, Figueiro and her t...

Signify announced at EuroShop 2020 its further step in the Retail IoT space through the launch of Interact Retail multisite management – a cloud-based, connected lighting system designed for multiple stores and retail distribution centers. The system will be adopted by UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S). (Image: Signify) The new features make it possible to create a network of connected stores, helping s the retailer to create and manage uniform light schedules for its stores from a single dashboard. The retailers can thus define scenes and schedules on ...

US-based container farm developer Freight Farms has raised US$15 million in Series B funding led by Ospraie Ag Science, an investment firm committed to supporting sustainable solutions. The investment round, which received participation from existing investor Spark Capital, brings the company's total funding to more than US$ 28 million. Freight Farms specialized in containerized vertical agriculture. Its product, named “Greenery,” incorporates hydroponic systems and LED lighting, enabling production of more than 500 varieties of crops at commercial s...

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) announced a collaboration with Jungo to develop a Time-of-Flight (ToF) and 2D infrared- (IR) based camera solution to enable driver- and in-cabin monitoring in vehicles. (Image: ADI) The combination of ADI’s ToF technology with Jungo’s Codriver software is expected to enable the monitoring of vehicle occupants for levels of drowsiness and distraction by observing head and body position as well as eye gaze. The solution is also expected to enable smart vehicle interaction based on face, body, and hand gestures, and offer ...

Israel-based LiDAR company Innoviz Technologies announced its partnership with Shaanxi Heavy Duty Automobile, a truck manufacturer based in Xian China, which is also known as Shacman Trucks outside China. With the cooperation, Innoviz will supply its LiDAR sensors for developing autonomous trucks for an upcoming project in one of the biggest ports in China. At the first stage of the project, InnovizPro LiDAR is being utilized in Shaanxi Truck's autonomous proof of concept project at the Chinese port, with Shaanxi's ultimate goal being the deployme...

  In its latest blog post, Osram addressed the significance of smart street lighting for future cities, noting that the digital transformation of city services is critical and will rely on connected city infrastructure. The United Nations foresees that by 2050, 68% of the world population will live in urban areas. For enhanced safety, operational efficiency and sustainability, this growing and concentrated population need to be supported by integrated system and services. Smart street lighting thus serves as a primary smart city installation to simultaneously create the unde...