StarPower Semiconductor and Cree announced that China’s Yutong Group is using Cree’s silicon carbade devices in a module for the powertrain system of electric buses. The use of silicon carbide-based power solutions enable faster, smaller, lighter and more powerful electronic systems for commercial electric vehicles. Cree works jointly with StarPower to accelerate the commercial adoption of silicon carbide-based inverters in electric bus applications. Upon rollout, Yutong Group will deliver their first electric bus in China to use silicon carbide in its powert...

Leading LED manufacturer Nichia has been dedicated in innovation of LED technology for a wide range of applications. LEDinside had an opportunity to interview Yoshihiko Naito, Deputy General Manager of Nichia’s Hong Kong subsidiary to learn more about the technology progress of Nichia in horticulture lighting and the current market trend. (Image: Nichia) LEDinside: From Nichia’s perspective, how is the global horticultural lighting market in 2019~2020? Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, whether the horticultural lighting market will see in a...

Dr. Hönle, a Germany-based UV technology developer, announced that it has proved that energy-rich short-waved UVC irradiation is highly effective for inactivating SARS-CoV-2 viruses, pathogen of COVID-19. The tests were conducted at the Institute for Medical Virology of the University Hospital Frankfurt. (Image: Pixabay) The results show that, using special Hönle UV units, the new corona virus can be killed reliably within seconds. An inactivation rate of 99,99% was confirmed in the laboratory. The tests were carried out applying different...

Vertical farming company Kalera from Florida, USA, has teamed up with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to conduct a study focusing on the effect of LED lighting by the end-of-production period. The results showed that by exposing lettuce to LED lighting before harvest, the nutritive value would increase. The new study, “Effect of End-of-Production High-Energy Radiation on Nutritional Quality of Indoor-Grown Red-Leaf Lettuce,” was published in HortScience on June 1, 2020. The research found that by using ...

Research team consisting of electrical and computer engineers at the University of Virginia and University of Texas-Austin has developed an avalanche photodiode that achieved record performance that could transform receiver components for LiDAR. The breakthrough was published in Nature Photonics on May 18, 2020, under the title “Low-noise high-temperature AlInAsSb/GaSb avalanche photodiodes for 2-μm applications.” Researchers said the low-noise, 2-μm avalanche photodiode can achieve eye-safe high-power operation. The team used the novel optical ...

Signify has committed to its sustainable goals including reducing carbon emission and achieving circular economy. Last week, the Dutch Company further announced another target to eliminate plastic usage in packaging. Signify announced that it will now start phasing out all plastics from packaging for consumer-related products with the aim to be plastic-free in 2021. By phasing out plastic used for consumer product packaging, Signify will avoid the use of over 2,500 tonnes of plastics per year. This is equal to 125 million PET bottles which, placed in a row, would stretch more t...

U.S. company Orion Lighting posted its FY 2020 financial results ending March 31, 2020. The revenue of FY 2020 grew by 129%YoY to US$150.8 million comparing to US$65.8 million in FY 2019. The gross profit also reached US$37.1 million with an on-year growth of 155%. Net income of the fiscal year came to US$12.5 million or US$0.40 per share. EBITDA came to US$14.7 million. Orion Lighting noted that the revenue increase was mainly driven by a large LED lighting and controls retrofit project of one national account. The company said its business ha...

With the majority of world population are still confined to their countries of residence and have difficulties participate in international business activities such as events or exhibition, many companies are moving their production launch event online. Display company Planar announced the June 2020 Virtual Product & Technology Showcase for introducing its new technology in lieu of the InfoComm 2020 event. Planar plans a three-day virtual event composed of product and technology sessions, videos, demonstrations and more from June 9 to 11, 2020. Since InfoComm 2020 has b...

GE Current, a Daintree company recently named Omnilumen Technical Products and GS Lighting Group as new agents in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Omnilumen Technical products is covering the Greater Toronto Area for luminaires and wired and wireless controls. GS Lighting Group is covering the province of Ontario for the Lamps & Ballast business, on top of continuing to manage the line for the region of Southwest Ontario. These partnerships will bring Current’s expansive portfolio of lighting and digital controls solutions to more businesses throu...

Smart display event Touch Taiwan, originally taking place in August 2020, has been rescheduled to April 2021, after evaluation of the market demands and current scenario. Most of the international technology events in the first half of 2020 have been cancelled or rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many expect that in the second half of the year, as more restrictions lifted, some events will be able to resume. However, Touch Taiwan, which originally to be held in August 26 to 28, 2020, has still been moved to April 21 to 23, 2021. (Image: Touch Taiwan) The...

Apart from assisting autonomous driving technology, LiDAR technology is also helping archaeologists to unveil the long covered structures from ancient times with its penetration feature. A research team recently discovered the largest and oldest Mayan monument via LiDAR technology and published their findings in Nature. The team use LiDAR from an airplane to find the monument under the authorization of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico. Laser beams penetrate the tree canopy and reveal the three-dimensional forms of archaeological features ...

Advanced LED technology enables innovative automotive lighting including adaptive driving beam (ADB) by which each single LED pixel can be control independently for a wider range of applications. Based on similar concept, Japanese LED maker Stanley proposed an innovative way to combine laser and MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) mirror, which allows high precision light and sensing function. (Image: Stanley) Stanly uses blue laser light which can be reflected with MEMS mirror and converted into white light with phosphor to build a headlight system. V...

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the trade association that oversees Bluetooth® technology, and the DiiA, the global DALI alliance of companies from the lighting and sensor industries, announced their collaboration for expanding designed to accelerate the adoption of IoT-enabled commercial lighting systems. The collaboration will enable the deployment of certified DALI-2 devices and intelligent D4i luminaires, with qualified Bluetooth mesh intelligent lighting-control networks. This collaboration brings together two IoT standards for commercial li...

To enhance UVC disinfecting applications, a new study proposed an alternative transparent conductor that deliver UV spectrum to solve the issue of low efficiency of current UV LED technology. The research provide the approach of using SrNbO3 as an electrode material for UV LED. A joint research group with scholars from The Pennsylvania State University, University of Minnesota from the U.S. and The University of Tokyo and Tohoku University in Japan published their study in Communications Physics suggesting a solution of UV-transparent electrode to de...

Breaking the social activity limitation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Samsung launched an online virtual lighting exhibition to fill the need for more consumer-facing product presentations with innovative new strategies. The Virtual Lighting Exhibition now offers a 24/7access to Samsung’s updated lighting solutions for manufacturers, supply chain partners and end users. Samsung said that this online booth provides a platform where virtual visitors can access the most current Samsung LED technologies and products. Users can find segmented product lineups grouped...

Mini LED display technology is on its way to break into the mainstream market with several products including laptops and gaming monitors officially debuted. Apple’s rumored Mini LED-based iPad and Macbook are also expected to show up in the second half of 2020. In addition, leading TV brands are said to launch high-end 8K TVs with Mini LED backlight technology. Epistar, the Taiwan-based LED chip maker, is believed to be benefitted from the increasing demands for Mini LED. Aiming to fulfill the surging Mini LED display applications, Epistar has in...

The China Association of Lighting Industry (CALI) and the Zhaga Consortium (Zhaga) have signed a liaison agreement which entered into force by May 1, 2020. (Image: LEDinside) The two parties said in their joint press release that LED technology has improve radically in the past decade and changed the lighting industry. Dedicating to standardizing interfaces of components of LED luminaires, Zhaga sees the progress and identified areas of mutual interest with CALI. Thus they agreed to structure and strengthen their relationship and to foster closer cooperat...

Do you feel like enjoying the magnificent viewing experience created by Micro LED technology but are not sure if the sky-high price is worthy? There is a way to immerse yourself in the next-generation display technology before the decisions are made: visit the experience zone of “The Wall” opened by Samsung at Gwanggyo Department Store in Suwon, South Korea. (Image: Samsung) Samsung launched the “The Wall” experience zone by installing a 146-inch The Wall display at department store on May 31, 2020. Visitors feel the superior quality of t...

Fluence by OSRAM announced the launch of four additional spectra on its VYPR top light series. From broad white to high red, Fluence’s extended PhysioSpec™ spectra enable growers to optimize lighting strategies for any crop in any growth stage or geographic location. “In our relentless pursuit of innovative lighting solutions for crop cultivation, we’ve conducted in-depth research on plant response under various spectra with a range of crops,” said David Cohen, CEO of Fluence. “One of the biggest challenges for cultivators around t...

EPISTAR Corporation, a leading innovator and manufacturer of LED solid-state lighting technologies, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Lowe’s Companies, Inc. and Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC (collectively “Lowe’s”) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Waco Division on May 22, 2020. The complaint asserts that GE LED filament bulbs sold by Lowe’s infringe several EPISTAR patents and seeks damages and injunctive relief to halt further sale of the infringing products. EPIS...

Velodyne Lidar and Idriverplus announced an expanded partnership and Idriverplus inclusion into the Automated with Velodyne integrator ecosystem, which helps companies grow their businesses while using Velodyne’s LiDAR technology. Through the program, Velodyne will further collaborate with Idriverplus to support its continued innovation and promote Idriverplus autonomous vehicles, including street cleaners, passenger cars and logistics vehicles. Recently, Velodyne signed a multi-year sales agreement with Idriverplus to provide Puck™ sensors for the mass prod...

Cree announced the launch of its new SMD RGB LED product series, CV94D, for video wall, signage and color sign applications. According to Cree, the new LED product deliver high contrast and high quality image at different viewing angle from different distances. Featuring water resistance and containing UV inhibitor, these RGB LEDs are able to deliver stable light output over the lifetime and are suitable for outdoor applications. (Image: Cree) The new CV94D IP X8-rated enables the LED and its lenses to be directly exposed to the environment, wh...

LeddarTech announced that it is working with STMicroelectronics to create a LiDAR Evaluation Kit. The evaluation kit will demonstrate technical concepts and offer development capabilities in a functional LiDAR for automotive Tier 1-2 suppliers and industrial system integrators to develop a LiDAR solution based on LeddarEngine™ technology. LeddarTech’s kit will include ST’s MEMS mirror-based laser-beam scanning solutions along with technologies, products, and services from other LeddarTech ecosystem partners. The evaluation kit is being...

The U.S. lighting company Acuity Brands announced its strategic partnership with Ushio America. The two companies entered into an alliance agreement that Ushio will supply Acuity Brands with its Care222® UV disinfection module, which generate far-UVC light which is safe to human skin but capable of inactivating viruses and bacteria on indoor surfaces. Under the agreement, Acuity Brands will have an exclusive right to use Ushio’s far-UVC disinfecting module for general illumination uses throughout North America and non-exclusive right for the worldwide m...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the biggest challenge to international trade after the financial crisis in 2008. When most of commercial activities are moving online, international purchasing becomes harder than ever for buyers to import since a purchasing decision must be made directly online without face-to-face communication. Through our recent investigations on hundreds of professional overseas buyers, the biggest worry for them turns out to be the quality issue during the process of oversea procurement online, because a quality issue brings potential risks of damaging brand re...

The tallest building in Southeast Asia currently locates in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The 461.5-meter-high building, Landmark 81, is recently lit up by Osram subsidiary Traxon e:cue and LK Technology. (Image: Osram) The intelligent dynamic lighting system on the facade of Landmark 81 is provided by Traxon e:cue. More than 12,500 sets of Traxon luminaires are pixel precise controlled and managed by the e:cue Light Management System. A variety of products are incorporated into the structure including customized LED Dots, Monochrome Tubes, several e:cue B...

Apple is reportedly preparing the new iPad and MacBook adopting Mini LED technology coming later this year or later while its progress in Micro LED technology has yet enter the next phase. It was said that the Apple Watch Series will feature OLED screen which is similar to the previous model, instead of Micro LED. An anonymous Twitter account who has revealed several Apple products details accurately twitted on May 31 suggesting that Apple will use display from JDI, who supplies OLED panels for Apple Watch. (Image: Apple) Since Apple initiat...

Worldwide researchers continues to explore the possible ways to defeat the novel coronavirus. UV light is considered one of the effective ways to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection as it deactivates microorganism in air, water and on the surface. A new study from Colorado State University (CSU) found that UV light can also diminish SARS-CoV-2 virus in blood. Researchers at CSU used existing technologies to show that exposing the coronavirus to riboflavin and UV light reduces pathogens in human plasma and whole-blood products. The result was published on M...

According to the latest investigations by TrendForce, despite the slight slowdown in wearables shipment (including smartwatches and smart wristbands), the increasing demand for improved health monitoring functions has galvanized a strong momentum in the market for wearables-related components. For instance, to raise the accuracy of health monitoring functions, wearables manufacturers are projected to utilize more green LEDs and infrared LEDs while also increasing the size of photodiodes, in turn doubling the demand for PPG. TrendForce indicates that most wearables measure b...

In 2020, people all around the globe are living in ways that we would never have thought because of COVID-19 pandemic. Majority of the world population has spent most of their time at home with lockdown policies and to avoid infection in the past few months. Even now that several areas have lifted up the restriction, people’s lifestyle is likely to change forever. Lighting applications, which highly related to our daily life, reflect the changes of people’s behaviors. LEDinside is thus seeing some rising trends in the lighting industry in response to the impact of ...