Automobile manufacturers have implemented optical sensors on vehicles and boosted the demands of sensors in recent years. Currently each vehicle is installed with four to five set sensing elements. It is forecasted that the number will keep growing and by 2020, every single vehicle might be installed with up to 10 sensing elements. Another major market for sensor applications is wearable devices. The market expansion of wearable devices will increase the needs of photodiode by four-fivefold.

LED applications have opened an explosive market in horticulture lighting. Nichia, the Japanese LED giant, set up a laboratorial plant factory in Shanghai to test how different LED light sources can alter the ingredients of plants to create medicinal effects. 

OSRAM and Continental have finished the negotiation and approval process and launched OSRAM Continental GmbH joint venture that started to operate from July 2nd 2018. OSRAM Continental plans to employ around 1,500 people worldwide and to move the headquarters from Munich to Garching.

According to 2018 Infrared Sensing Application Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, LiDAR laser market value is expected to reach USD 154 million in 2020. The main driving forces include automotive LiDAR (passenger / truck), intelligent transport system, drone, measurement, sweeping robot, etc.

Canadian automotive components supplier, Magna, announced that the company has signed a deal to buy Olsa S.p.A, an Italian automotive lighting producer for approximately 230 million euros. The acquisition will extend Magna’s capability of producing lighting product from designing to manufacturing. 

Osram has appointed Jes Munk Hansen as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the US, and Head of Global Sales for all business units. Hansen had served in different roles at Osram and as CEO in LEDVANCE from 2015-2017.

SunLED launched a full color SMD LED, the Super Thin 0202 RGB SMD LED: XZBGRBBRMER158W. The small size LED provides color intensity and allows engineers and designers to reduce the footprint size dedicated during design phases while providing the wide array of colors necessary to increase product functionality.

Nichia considered that in 2H18, the competition between LED makers will still go on due to the excess capacity of LED backlight and the weak market demands in the past two quarters. As the prices of LED chips and packaging has been down for years, there might be more acquisitions between corporates and some collapses for small and medium sized manufacturers. Generally speaking, 2018 is a tough year for the LED industry. 

Nichia, the leading LED Company based in Japan, held a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan and shared its state-of-the-art lighting technologies in automotive, medical, and horticultural applications. 

LED lighting is widely known for its features of energy saving, long life and sustainability, making it perfect for city lighting. Communities around the world have chosen to install LED lights to save cost and to increase the well-being of people.

Edmund Optics, the U.S. based optical components supplier, has ordered the Spector Ion Beam Sputtering System from Veeco Instruments. The new capability will support Edmund Optics to expand portfolio of high quality laser optics for infrared, visible, and ultraviolet systems.

The global lighting giant, Osram announced the company’s amendment of the yearly forecast in response to market slowdown in the automotive sector. The company reported that the restrictions on trade and sales for automotive manufacturers significantly created business uncertainty.

LED lighting systems are beginning to take on a new light – as the leading agent in the move to make businesses, stores and government facilities more automated than ever before. This so-called smart lighting is the harbinger of a new way of thinking that marries energy efficiency with sensitivity to the needs of a building’s occupants.

LED makers have been announcing their progress of Mini LED before reaching the final goal, Micro LED. Manufacturers in Taiwan and China started to ship Mini LED products from the second half of 2018. Nichia, the Japanese LED giant, also reported that it has completed the development process of Mini LED and is ready to mass produce related products that will be released by the end of the year.

At Samsung Electronics’ QLED & Advanced Displays Summit in Los Angeles, California, the company showcased its current progress of the integration of QLED display, 8K ecosystem, Micro LED technology and HDR. 

At Brussels’ Zaventem Airport, a 30,000 pixel video and kinetic sculpture runs above travelers on their way the baggage reclaim hall. The installation was jointly set up by ArKaos, a real-time video processing company, and a visual designer Koert Vermeulun of creative agency ACTLD. 

London Science Museum selected White Light, a British event technology operator to manage the lighting installation in one of its gallery, Making the Modern World. SGM’s R-2 Rail lights were chosen by White Light to transform the museum gallery at night while maintaining the daylight look of the museum. 

Human Centric Lighting addresses the influences of light on the human body and is used to develop innovative lighting technologies for diminishing the negative effects of artificial lights and enhancing the wellbeing of people. Aside from the human body, scientists have also studies the impacts of artificial lights on wild animals. By looking into the ecological effects of different light through different spectrums, a research has been able to develop an approach to cut down their adverse effects on wildlife.

Committed to proposing positive impacts on the environment by developing energy saving technology in lighting products, EarthTronics announced to introduce its energy-efficient 1-watt S14 and 5-watt T10 LEDs to its vintage filament line.

LED driver producer, ERP Power LLC (ERP), reported its development of the world’s smallest programmable drivers with Computer Controlled Dimming™ technology. 

Signify launched the Philips MyCare LED bulb which adopts its Interlaced Optics technology to enhance eye comfort. The patented technology used in the new lamps was inspired by the pattern of sunflower seeds, with the micro Interlaced Optics imprinted onto lamps. The design can diffuse and reflect light as well as decrease glare by up to 35%. 

The market has put a spotlight on Micro LED technology since Apple acquired LuxVue. Manufacturers of the industry have collaborated to boost the momentum of Micro LED as the technology becomes more and more popular in 2017 and 2018. Besides Apple and Sony, Samsung and Foxconn are also the big names that attract most attention. 

LED chip maker Epistar reported the company’s decision to establish a spin-off to focus on VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser) and GaN on Si components production. This spin-off will be named Epistar Semiconductor. M.J. Chou, the current president of Epistar, will become the president of the new subsidiary.

Hyundai Mobis revealed its new achievement in developing new materials for making lamps which can defeat the fog problem. The new materials application also helped to reduce the weight of its lamp products by 20% for one lamp.

Osram showcased its latest technology of Human Centric Lighting (HCL) with an eyewear device at Boston TechJam.

The Swedish LED lighting supplier for greenhouse and controlled plant growth environment, Heliospectra AB, reported that Medical 420, a Macedonia based medicinal cannabis cultivation facility placed a new order to Heliospectra AB to increase the capacities for the growing medical market.

Nichia Corporation (“Nichia”) and Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. and L G Sourcing, Inc. have reached a settlement in the cases titled Nichia Corporation v. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-00613-JRG (filed in the Eastern Districts of Texas); Nichia Corporation v. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. et al., Case No. 5:16-cv-00142-MOC-DSC (filed in the Western District of North Carolina); and Nichia Corporation v. Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-01455-JRG (filed in the Eastern Districts of Texas), mutually agreeing to dismissal of the lawsuits. While the terms of the agreement are confidential, both parties are pleased with the result. Nichia’s suits against VIZIO(1)(2)(3) and Feit(4)(5) in the Central District of California remain ongoing.

Micro LED, which is considered the next generation technology, has advantages of high brightness, reliability, short response time and wide viewing angle. The technology development of Micro LED and its applications have been attracting attentions from researchers and professionals worldwide. According to LEDinside, the market value of Micro LED will reach US$2.891 billion by 2025.

Mini LED as an enhanced version of conventional LED backlight has been considered as a transitional technology between conventional LED and Micro LED. According to the estimation of LEDinside, the revenue of Mini LED products is expected to reach US$689 million by 2022. Before the second half of 2018 started, many LED companies have reported their progress and shipping schedule of Mini LED products including applications of automotive lighting and mobile devices.

The application of IoT (Internet of Things) has been expanded to a greater level to construct “smart city” for safety and energy saving purposes. Public lighting, as part of the infrastructure of cities, is included in the smart city projects in Switzerland and the U.S.