Signify has announced the launch of Interact Pro, a multi-tasking, smart lighting system and software developed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The lighting company has been extending its business in connected lighting systems, software and services and has released IoT-ready products to new customer segments.

Chinese panel maker BOE has attempted to supply its OLED panels to Samsung Electronics, according to Korean media, The Investor. The report said BOE has been working on samples for the panels used in Samsung’s Galaxy Watch.

In recent years, LED lighting has been popularized in the lighting application. With the development of smart city and smart lighting, LED bulbs are also developing in the direction of intelligence and digitization. However, the penetration rate of smart lighting in home applications is still low. One of the main reasons is that the operation system of the smart lighting is too complicated for users to use.

Prices of mainstream LED package products in the Chinese market dropped slightly in September, according to the latest price report released by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.

According to the latest research report of LEDinside 「2019 Global LED Video Wall Market Outlook - Cinema, Rental Market and Price Trend」, as the demand for LED display in markets including rental market, HDR market application, retail and meeting room boosts, the annual growth rate of indoor fine pitch display in 2018 is expected to 39% and its CAGR during 2018 o 2022 will reach 28%, which is driven by the continuous development of ultra-fine pitch display in the future.

According to LEDinside, the global market size of micro LED is expected to grow to US $1.12 billion in 2020 and US $3.18 billion in 2025. In the end, a variety of products (BLU and RGB displays) with micro / mini LEDs as individual pixels are expected to be introduced to the market. However, technologies that can deliver large quantities of LED chips to the substrate at a time are still under development, and technologies for repairing defective mini LED chips are needed. 

Osram and Koito have released a series of standardized LED signal lamps with their XLS product family and the lamps are used in the new Toyota Corolla Sport. 

ETi Solid State Lighting, a subsidiary of Elec-Tech Solid State Lighting, has announced that its Color Preference technology was approved by the U.S Patent Office under Patent number 10,091,855. The company has implemented the technology in a range of new LED lighting products.

The U.S.-based LED technology developer, Neo Lights Holdings, has aimed to set up its manufacturing facilities in India and announced that the company is in discussion with several Indian producers to determine the optimized approaches of collaboration. 

CIMCON Lighting, a lighting management solution provider, has announced the launch of the NearSky™ Connect program. The program aims to gather service and technology providers to deliver solutions for smart city applications. 

With the orders of backlight products and fine pitch displays, Epistar has reached the highest monthly revenue of NT$ 1.93 billion (US$ 62.38 million) of the year in September with an increase of 1.36% MoM and a decrease of 22% YoY. 

Osram Opto Semiconductors has joined the ISELED Alliance which aims to set up an industrial ecosystem to provide solutions for automotive LED lighting.

Lighting Science has announced the launch of the Good Day & Night Troffers, which combine its patented LED spectrum technologies.

The development of LED applications in horticulture has continued to transform our understanding of farming. Delphy, a Dutch company, has recently conducted research on growing raspberries and blackberries with LED lighting, aiming to harvest them during winter.

Lextar has reported revenue drop in September due to its continuous product adjustments. The company registered a revenue of NT$ 98 million (US$ 3.17 million) for September with a decrease of 6.7% YoY. 

Osarm has cooperated with German company builder mantro to develop VISN, a product for analyzing and optimizing spaces in the office. The two companies are presenting the product at the Expo Real trade fair from October 8th – 10th in Munich, Germany. 

Velodyne LiDAR, the world leader in 3D real-time perception systems for autonomous vehicles, has been working on promoting the safety of autonomous cars. The company will hold the World Safety Summit on Autonomous Technology to address safety issues and public concern regarding autonomous vehicles in Santa Clara, California, on October 18th. In addition, it has partnered with non-profit organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to create an educational website providing information about how autonomous vehicles can help to prevent roadway collisions.

GE Lighting has been the LED lighting supplier for Walmart. By converting Walmart shoppers from traditional light bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs over the past two years, it has saved 1.2 billion kWh of electricity*.

Cree continues to expand its industrial lighting portfolio and has announced the launch of its new LXB Series Linear High-Bay luminaires. LEDVANCE, on the other hand, has debuted a low glare luminaires for replacing conventional fluorescent lighting. 

Thorn Lighting, a UK-based lighting provider and a member of the Zumtobel Group, has announced that its luminaires were selected to light the newly constructed bridge which connects Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. The bridge is currently the longest sea bridge in the world and is scheduled to open soon in October. 

Micro LED displays and devices developer VueReal has announced $8.5 million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to support its project whose total investment is over $26 million. The funding will be used to further develop innovative Micro LED technologies by expanding its original research team and launching a new center with fabrication facility. 

Automotive LED application has provided advanced light sources for drivers and now it offers a new function: creating eyes for self-driving cars like those of Herbie’s. 

Dr. Hiroshi Amano, a 2014 Nobel laureate in physics, delivered a lecture at Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan on October 3rd, sharing his research progress on GaN blue LED with Prof. Isamu Akasaki and how he has transferred his research focus from blue LED to UV LED and GaN power. He also highlighted the potential applications of GaN technology in the era of IoT and 5G. 

LG Display has confirmed its plan to cut jobs through voluntary retirement as the company intends to shift its product portfolio from LCD display to OLED display which requires less production workforce, reported Reuters.

Taiwan-based LED packagers Edison Opto and Bright LED Electronics (BRTLED) have reported their strategies in response to the price competition of LED products and the impacts of trade war. 

Taiwanese LED wafer and chip maker Epileds has reportedly continued its progress in developing Micro LED/Mini LED products. However, impacted by the price pressure and severe competition, the company’s performance for 3Q18 turned out flat.

With the advent of the internet-of-things (IoT) era, the IoT-Ready™ alliance (an alliance of lighting, building management, and Internet of Things companies, https://www.iot-ready.org/) has developed a common standard to reduce communication errors between component suppliers in the field of smart lighting, so smart light adjustment, environmental protection, and energy saving can be applied more efficiently in daily life. FSP Group joined the IoT-Ready™ Alliance in 2018 and was the first to introduce a 50W power supply to be used with the Enlighted ESI V4.8 protocol and the latest IoT sensors.

People have continued to discover more applications and functions of LED lights. Researchers at Purdue University have found that blue and red LED can be used to prevent birds from colliding with human structures and vehicles.

Nick Klase, co-founder and CEO of Fluence Bioengineering, has appointed Dave Cohen as the new CEO of the company and he will move into a new role in the company’s R&D team.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has introduced its new development of an indoor lighting technology which mimics blue skies and changes colors with daytime to create a natural feel for indoor spaces.