French research institute CEA-Leti announced that its researchers have broken the throughput world record of 5.1 Gbps in visible light communications (VLC) using a single GaN blue Micro LED. Their data transmission rate of 7.7 Gbps achieved with a 10 µm Micro LED marks another step toward commercialization and widespread use of LiFi communication. (Image: CEA-Leti) VLC, or LiFi (light fidelity), is an emerging wireless communication system that offers an alternative or a complementary technology to radio frequency (RF) systems such as WiFi and...

UC Santa Barbara researchers continue to push the boundaries of LED design a little further with a new method that could pave the way toward more efficient and versatile LED display and lighting technology. UCSB electrical and computer engineering professor Jonathan Schuller and collaborators describe this new approach, which could allow a wide variety of LED devices — from virtual reality headsets to automotive lighting — to become more sophisticated and sleeker at the same time. (Image: UCSB) Usually LEDs emit spontaneous light, comparing to...

LED video display company announces the financial results of its fiscal 4Q20 and 2020 ending May 2. 2020. Daktronics reported fiscal year 2020 net sales of US$608.9 million, operating loss of US$0.2 million and net income of US$0.5 million. This compares to net sales of $569.7 million, operating loss of US$4.7 million, and net loss of US$1.0 million for fiscal 2019. Fiscal 2020 orders were US$620.8 million compared to US$608.9 million for fiscal 2019. For fiscal 4Q20, Daktronics registered net sales of US$126.1 million, operating loss of US$3.5 million, and...

LG Display announced that it will be leading Korean national project for developing stretchable displays, aiming to expand display applications in the era of IoT, 5G and self-driving car. Selected by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), LG Display will oversee the large-scale R&D project and lead a collective of 21 entities covering related companies, research institutes and universities. Jointly these parties will develop core technologies, materials, component and build up a robust ecosystem for Korea’s display technolog...

Velodyne Lidar announced a three-year sales agreement with a Danish intelligent farming solution developer AGROINTELLI. Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors will be adopted in the Robotti autonomous tool carriers that increase efficiency on fields and help professional farmers save time and money. Robotti uses Velodyne’s Puck™ sensors for safe and efficient navigation on farmland. It supports a wide range of equipment such as precision seeder, mechanical inter-row weeder and seed drill. Robotti performs highly accurate, site-specific agricultural operations ...

Perovskite is one of the focuses of LED research as the material is believed to deliver light with lower production cost. However, the efficiency and stability of perovskite-based LEDs still need to be improved with worldwide research teams continuously working on the material. Helio Display Materials, a spin-off company of Oxford University and Cambridge University, is pushing perovskite LEDs commercialization with the IPs from both universities. (Image: Helio Display Materials) Helio Display Materials aims to leverage its technology to enhance color perform...

LED lighting not only supports and optimize the growth of plants, it can also help fish farming. Signify announced its latest innovation in aquaculture LED lighting with related product that improve land- and marine-based cultivation of salmon, seabass and seabream. The unique light distribution also lead to less exposure to sea lice, reducing treatment up to 50%. According to Signify, light is a powerful tool for enhancing fish production and welfare. With an optimized contrast ratio, Philips aquaculture LED lighting supports a lower food conversion ratio and the right lig...

In April, Atomic Blue, the U.S. LED company, announced that its high power UVC LED has passed the test by NIH for killing 99.9999% COVID-19 virus. Now, the company’s UVC germicidal light has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (Image: Atomic Blue) Atomic Blue's ultraviolet light has been registered with the FDA as a Disinfectant – Medical Device with the product code LRJ under device Class 1. The UVC fixture, known for its ability to eradicate the COVID-19 virus, is now approved for com...

AEye announced its success of achieving a new standard for MEMS sensor reliability with the new 4Sight product based on its iDAR platform. The product surpassed automotive qualification for both shock and vibe in testing. (Image: AEye) AEye addressed the current issue in the LiDAR industry, which is how to attain solid-state performance, especially for high resolution at long range. Luis Dussan, co-founder and CEO of AEye noted that MEMS-based could be a potential solution for tackling the difficulties but the inability of FMCW or other TOF systems...

Panel research division of TrendForce, WitsView, indicated that issues with notebook computer panel supply chain, such as material shortage, labor shortage, and logistic disruptions, were gradually resolved starting in April. The resolution of these issues, combined with rising WFH and distance education demand brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in a strong wave of panel demand in 2Q20. TrendForce projects 2Q20 notebook panel shipment to reach 53.3 million units with a 17.7% increase YoY and 33.6% increase QoQ. (Image: Pixabay) TrendForce Resea...

STMicroelectronics announced the extension of its FlightSense ToF ranging sensors by introducing the VL53L3CX which allow measuring distances to multiple objects and increasing accuracy. Meanwhile, the company also introduced a reference design suited for monitoring social distancing and assuring remote operation to protect human health in all environments in response to global or local pandemic conditions. The ToF sensor VL53L3CX measures object ranges from 2.5 cm to 3 m, allowing designers to introduce features like occupancy detectors or reporting the exact distanc...

Osram revealed an intelligent emitter module for 3D sensing which allows smartphones to take high-quality images and videos with staggered depth of field. Besides optimizing image content, the module can also be used for 3D object recognition or AR applications. The product is designed to strengthen camera function of smartphones. Innovative functionalities of mobile devices require components to fit into ever smaller spaces. A central task for manufacturers has been to find the right emitters, photodiodes and VCSEL driver chips (ICs), then calibrate them and finally insta...

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...