Several interesting developments happened in the OLED sector this week, with the Taiwanese government announcing it will be pouring US $3 billion to develop flexible AMOLED and PMOLED industries in the nation. The flexible display technology will be co-developed with ITRI, and the government aims to form a comprehensive OLED supply chain in Taiwan and reducing the country’s reliance on material imports. Cadillac also showcased its OLED concept car in California on Friday, where it is employing four large OLED panels for its Escala concept car dashboard.

Diehard fans of Star Wars that have dreamed of deflecting laser light beams with Jedi light sabers might get a chance in a future Disneyland.

The Escala Concept debuts in California tonight, introducing the next evolution of Cadillac design and previewing the craftsmanship and technology being developed for many future models. Following a series of private previews, Escala will be displayed this weekend at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The night of August 18th marks a new milestone at The Wharf, as Hoffman-Madison Waterfront's commitment to revitalizing the Southwest waterfront comes to life. On August 18th at 9:15pm, the new lighting design of the Francis Case Memorial Bridge (Case Bridge) will be inaugurated by Washington DC's Mayor Muriel Bowser. The inaugural lighting will gradually unveil the final design, offering a new perspective on the bridge and the City.

OLED displays might not be found on all iPhone 8 that is rumored to be launched in September 2017, according to a Barron’s blog article.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus might feature a pressure-sensitive home button with haptic feedback, reported Bloomberg.

GE Lighting is involved in the Olympic Games Rio that runs from Aug. 5-21, 2016, in ways more than just LED lighting installation projects. The company developed LED lights that can help monitor athletes performance.

Low power LED lights could raise Canadian snow crab catchability, according to a study presented by PHD candidate Khanh Nguyen at the fourth International Marine Conservation Congress, reported The Fish Site.

Iota Labs, a company founded by five Berkeley engineers, is launching a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to finish developing Dot, the Physical Push Notification. The campaign will kick off in Aug. 23, 2016 and features a LED enhanced smartphone notification device.

The adoption of iris recognition features into Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note 7 in New York last week caught market attention, users of the device can unlock their phones simply by peering into their smartphone displays, reported TechNews.

Fulham has introduced a new technology alliance with Tvilight, a Dutch high-tech company and a European market leader in sensors, wireless controls, and lighting management software, to deliver fully programmable, wireless outdoor LED systems for emerging Smart Cities.      

Gemio, a wearable device developer, launched a new customizable smart LED band capable of lighting up in various color patterns.

To cope with saturated smartphones' market and gradually weakening sales, Samsung Electronics is considering to purchase Fiat Chrysler Group's automobile component manufacturer Magneti Marelli to develop new market segments.

More than half of Bolton’s street lamps have now switched over to new LED lighting - and work is on target to finish in 2018. Replacement work continues throughout the borough and almost 15,000 lights in 2,463 streets have been upgraded, since the rollout began in April last year. Approximately 26,000 lights on residential streets and main roads are being replaced with lower carbon LED lanterns.

Smart industries and intelligent living were the main themes of the 2016 China (Chengdu) Smart Industry International Expo that kicked off Wednesday, according to a MoneyDJ report.

The intensity of patent wars heated up in the last two years, especially among leading manufacturers in the industry such as Cree, who has filed suits against Asian rivals from 2015-2016. In its latest case against Taiwanese LED manufacturer Unity Opto and its American client Feit Electric, the two defendants might be willing to settle the case with Cree.

The high-barrier films coatings market environment is currently complex and in a state of flux as it undergoes some significant transitions driven by evolution of the technologies involved and end-user product demands according to the latest market data from Smithers Apex.

Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Shuji Nakamura, who was lauded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as the Edison of 21st Century, recently noted laser diodes would eventually replace LEDs in lighting applications within the next decade at a fair in China last month, reported China’s LED Patent Alliance (LPA).

About 167,000 streetlights in Porvorim, the capital of Goa state in India, will be replaced with LED bulbs in seven months, said the Power Minister Milind Naik at a State Legislative Assembly recently, reported Herald.

Uniroyal Global Engineered Products (or the “Company”) upgraded the lighting infrastructure to more energy efficient LED lighting in its North American manufacturing plant located in Stoughton, Wisconsin. The Stoughton plant manufactures Uniroyal Global’s Naugahyde®, automotive and custom/specialty vinyl-coated fabric products. Utilizing an incentive from Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy, the company implemented 575 LED light fixtures within the manufacturing plant’s production floor and warehouse. 

Heliospectra, a world leader in intelligent lighting technology for controlled environments horticulture, is pleased to announce that Green Leaf, a recently licensed cannabis cultivation facility in Alaska, selected the Heliospectra LED lighting system. Green Leaf owner-operator Aaron Bean chose the Heliospectra LED-based solution after determining that it is the only product in the marketplace with the power and versatility to support every stage of the cannabis growth cycle.

Chinese LED manufacturer Honglitronic Optoelectronics announced it had rebranded itself as Honglizhihui Group, and is in the process of acquiring  connected car technology assets.

Royal Philips announced the results of the first published study to demonstrate that absolute oxygen saturation of arterial blood (SpO2), a vital sign that is commonly monitored in hospitalized and other patients, can be accurately measured across multiple patients using contactless technology. 

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, U.S. finished installing more than 3,000 LED bulbs in the East Economy parking garage, reported KTAR News.

As part of the three-pillar strategy announced last November, Osram is further expanding the leading position of its Specialty Lighting (SP) business. The company has agreed to acquire Novità Technologies, a U.S. manufacturer of automotive LED modules which are used particularly in tail lights, fog lights and daytime running lights. The acquisition will immediately be margin-accretive in the Specialty Lighting segment.

Cree and Avnet, a leading global technology distributor, announced a strategic agreement that expands coverage in the Americas for the distribution of Cree's comprehensive portfolio of innovative LED components including high-power, Chip-on-Board, high brightness and LED modules. This agreement demonstrates Cree and Avnet’s shared commitment to provide customers with the industry’s best LED solutions and service to continue driving LED adoption.

Six cities in Indian state Chhattisgarh in central India to replace conventional CFL streetlights and tube lights with LEDs soon, reported the largest English newspaper in the region The Hitadava.

Cambridge City Council in UK has started a major new project to install new low energy LED lighting at two of its multi-story car parks.

Once again, pioneering lighting technology from Osram is being fitted to a production vehicle. This time it is OLED technology (Organic Light Emitting Diode) in the tail lights of the new BMW M4 GTS. These organic area light sources take up very little space, opening up design options that car manufacturers have so far only dreamed about. “Our OLEDs in the tail lights of the BMW M4 GTS make us the first company to have this new technology on the road in a production vehicle. 

Many households in impoverished regions around the world are starting to shift away from inefficient and polluting fuel-based lighting—such as candles, firewood, and kerosene lanterns—to solar-LED systems. While this trend has tremendous environmental benefits, a new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that it spurs economic development as well, to the tune of 2 million potential new jobs.